


Warp of the Worlds

by Cassodembreankia



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Character from Our World Fell Into a Fictional One, F/M, Major Spoilers, Plot Spoilers, Slow Burn, Spoilers, not spoiler free
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-10-21
Packaged: 2019-10-21 05:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 23,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17636735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cassodembreankia/pseuds/Cassodembreankia
Summary: "I'm going to be so clueless that even with the distance markers telling me where to go, I'm gonna get so lost. You're definitely gonna have to help m-what's that?" I pointed at a void on the screen, up in the sky. "Is that part of the game?""Uh… no?" Amy said. "Probably just a glitch. It's a huge open world so maybe the graphics are having problems loading."If only. But nothing was ever that simple. Amy knew Final Fantasy XV a lot better than I did, but this wasn't something we'd ever come across before, even when I used to watch her play.





	1. Chapter 1

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” I said. “I am going to put my controller through this screen—AMY STOP!” My best friend cackled as her character, Ike, slammed my character, Cloud, off the stage. “How am I supposed to _learn_ if all you do is just whale on me and not tell me what to do?”

            “It’s called tough love, Nova!” Amy cried out, making Ike do a taunt on the screen.

            “How are you this good at Ike when you main _Roy_?” I complained. “And _Marth?_ ”

            Amy laughed. “Natural talent.”

            “Shut up,” I muttered.

            “You’re so full of it,” Bree said.

            “Hey Bree,” I said, “Amy’s at three lives as we’re both at one. Temporary truce to take her down a peg?”

            “Oh my heck. Yes!” Bree exclaimed, Greninja on the screen already heading into the fray.

            “What?! No!” Amy shrieked as Bree and I ganged up on her.

            By the time we took her down twice, she’d racked up enough damage on both of us to nearly secure her win. It was only after a really daring Final Smash from Greninja that Bree ended up taking both of us out and winning herself.

            Amy sighed. “I think I'm done,” she said. “Who wants to play something else?”

            “ _Breath of the Wild_?” I asked. “I love backseat driving.”

            “Nah… I wanna finish _Skyrim_ before I open up another open-world game,” Amy said.

            I sighed dramatically. “You’re no fun.”

            “We could boot up the PS-Four and play _Final Fantasy Fifteen_ so Nova can backseat drive and I can finish writing our DnD campaign,” Bree suggested.

            “I have a better idea,” Amy said. “How about we just make _Nova_ play _Final Fantasy Fifteen_?”

            “Uhm… I don’t know how?” I said.

            “Play the tutorial, ya dingus,” Bree said distractedly, already fishing her copy of the _Dungeon Master’s Guide_ out of her bag.

            “It does its job,” Amy agreed thoughtfully, turning off her Switch to find the cords for her PS4. Amy, Bree, and I had all moved into an apartment together when I graduated college. They were both still working on their degrees but needed to get out of their parents’ houses. Just from living there too long and needing to spread their wings a little. Amy had brought all of her consoles. And I was pretty sure she had every single one.

            Though, I was very much a “noob” gamer and had no idea how many consoles there were. I was great with _Nintendo_ party games and _Pokémon_ games, but other than that I was completely lost.

            Amy made me a save file for _Final Fantasy XV_ and handed me the controller. I took a deep breath. I’d watched her play the whole main story—it wasn’t _that_ long—so I knew what was coming, but I didn’t know how to do any of it. I read through the little lore guide at the beginning as a refresher course and went through the tutorial while Amy offered advice and Bree, sarcastic, distracted comments while barely looking up from her _DMG_.

            We were quiet through the first cutscene, but when the next one was getting started, Bree glanced up. “Hey Nova, is Ignis still your video game husband?” she teased.

            “Heck yeah!” I replied.

            Bree laughed, and Amy snickered. I was just grateful we understood each other when we used fandom-speak. “Prefer Gladio, myself,” Amy said. She was so deadpan in her delivery that I couldn’t tell if she was being serious or sarcastic.

            I caught Bree’s eyes scanning Gladiolus in the reflection of the TV screen. “I can see why,” she said.

            I snorted. The cutscenes continued.

            A smile pulled on my face as the music began. “Ugh, I love the music of this game,” I said.

            “Listen,” Amy said when the title card appeared. “This game has quite a few issues, and the soundtrack is _not_ one of them.”

            I laughed. “I agree. Remember the track from the fight with Lev—”

            “SSSHHH!” Bree hissed. “Spoilers! I haven’t played this yet!”

            “Oh. Didn’t realize you wanted to,” I said.

            “Meh. Eventually.” She shrugged. Amy and I glanced at each other and made _Okaaay_ faces at each other.

            After another cutscene, I was playing the game. “Okay. Now where the heck do I go?”

            “See the circle thingy with the distance marker on it? Head toward it. That’s your target. You’re gonna be seeing it a lot.”

            “I remember that,” I said. “But, like, do I have to go _around_ anything to get to it?”

            “Not really. Just some standard terrain stuff. Rocks. Couple animals maybe. Bushes. Prompto. Simple stuff.”

            I laughed. “Prompto get in the way a lot?”

            “Not really,” Amy admitted. “It just seemed funny.”

            “It was,” I said. “Okay Noctis… let’s go.”

            Amy smiled. “Have fun. If you need help just tell me.”

            “Oh I will,” I said as I tilted the joystick and Noctis went running away from Hammerhead with Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto following behind. “I'm going to be so clueless that even with the distance markers telling me where to go, I'm gonna get so lost. You’re definitely gonna have to help m—what’s that?” I pointed at a void on the screen, up in the sky. “Is that part of the game?”

            “Uh… no?” Amy said. “Probably just a glitch. It’s a huge open world so maybe the graphics are having problems loading.”

            “It doesn’t look like it’s that far from me,” I said. “I'm gonna go see if the sky finishes loading when I get there.”

            “Go for it.”

            Noctis went running for the void in the sky, responding to my joystick. As I got him closer, the hole in the graphics didn’t close. In fact, the outside edges seemed to turn a slightly different shade of blue—darker with a tint of green. “What is going on…?” I muttered as Noctis got even nearer.

            I stopped him as close under it as I could and panned the camera up to it.

            Bree looked up from her book. “Yeah what is that?”

            “I don’t know,” Amy and I said at the same moment.

            The characters on screen didn’t comment on it, so I guessed it wasn’t supposed to be in the game—no lines recorded.

            “Seems like a really blatant glitch,” I said. “Can I warp up to it? Maybe go through it?”

            “Don’t think so,” Amy said. “No Triangle Point-Warp option.”

            “Where do you think you’d end up if you could go through it?” Bree asked.

            “I dunno. A sneak preview demo of the _Final Fantasy Seven_ remake?” I suggested sarcastically.

            Amy snorted. “If that were the case I’d take the controller.”

            “I’d let you.” I made Noctis jump to see if he could get any closer. At first, nothing happened. Not that I expected anything to. Noctis didn’t jump very high and the portal was too far above the ground.

            “Hey, what’s that in the middle of it?” Bree asked.

            “It’s shaped like… a red shoe sole,” I said.

            “Huh. Wonder what’s going on,” Bree said.

            “Yeah same,” Amy said.

            “Hey there’s the other shoe!” Bree exclaimed as something else appeared in the void in the sky.

            “Yeah…” I said. “This is really weird, guys.”

            “Tell me about it. This never happened when I played.”

            “Hmm. Maybe I can try climbing on something and jumping up to—AAAHHH!”

            The scream was ripped from my throat before I could stop it. Something yanked on my ankles, pulling me through the apartment floor where I’d been sitting. I threw the controller into the air. I fell through solid flooring and into thin air. The last thing I heard was Amy and Bree shouting, “NOVA!”

            I tumbled through empty space for several long seconds before slamming into something hard with an, “Oof!”

            “Good heavens!” a familiar voice exclaimed. “Where did _you_ come from, miss?”

            I sat up and looked around. Four familiar bodies surrounded me with varying levels of suspicion.

            I scrambled to my feet. “Oh this is trippy,” I said, blinking hard and shaking my head as if that would make everything go away. “This is _beyond_ trippy.”


	2. Chapter 2

“I beg your pardon?” the voice from before said. I turned to look at the source. Tall, tawny hair spiked at the front, purplish button-down shirt with a black blazer jacket, glasses reflecting off the sun. From my distance I couldn’t see his eye color but I already knew what it was. Sharp teal with a hint of gray.

            Turning in a slow circle and not answering, I looked at the other three. Towering mass of muscle with dark hair. Average-height, bluish-black-haired and lean. Slightly shorter, blond and skinny. I recognized all of them.

            “I'm dreaming,” I said. My head grew light and I felt myself swaying on my feet.

            “Whoawhoawhoa! Catch her!” the blond cried out.

            Pitching forward headfirst, I passed out. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

*^*^*^*

When I came to, I was lying on a sofa with a throbbing headache. I could tell I was on a sofa without opening my eyes because the upholstery under my fingers didn’t feel like a quilt or duvet or any other kind of bed covering.

            Someone was dabbing a cool, wet cloth to my forehead. I waved them off—or tried to. More like I lifted my hand and it flopped back down. “I'm fine, Bree. Stop your fussing,” I moaned.

            “Begging your pardon, miss, but I'm not this ‘Bree’ you speak of,” a British voice said.

            Crap. It wasn’t a dream.

            I peeled my eyes open—and immediately shut them again against the light. “No. You’re not,” I muttered. “You’re Ignis Scientia.”

            “I'm sorry? How do you know who I am?”

            Before I could explain anything, I heard hinges creaking. “How is she? _Who_ is she?” another voice I knew asked. Prompto Argentum.

            “She’s awake,” Ignis said.

            I heard footsteps and felt another presence standing nearby. “Hi there!” Prompto said, excited but quiet. “I'm Prompto. What’s your name?”

            “Prompto, give her some space. She just woke up,” Ignis said. “We don’t know what state she’s in.”

            I opened my eyes in a tiny squint until they adjusted to the light and I could open them more fully. When I could see without my eyes burning, I sat up.

            Ignis was perched on the edge of the sofa at my hip with a small, damp folded towel in one hand. Prompto was standing beside the sofa, slightly bent over to look at me. Ignis looked mildly suspicious but Prompto just looked curious.

            “Oh man. This isn’t a dream,” I muttered.

            “I'm afraid not,” Ignis agreed. He handed me a glass of water. “Drink.”

            I swallowed half the glass in three grateful gulps, realizing my throat was dry and scratchy. “Ah. Thank you,” I said.

            “You’re welcome,” Ignis said. “Now. To business. Who are you and how do you know who I am?”

            Prompto looked from me to Ignis in alarm. “Wait. She knows who you are?”

            “Indeed,” Ignis said. “First and last name.”

            “Know yours too,” I said after clearing my throat. “Prompto Argentum.”

            “Gyah! What the he—”

            “Not now, Prompto,” Ignis interrupted.

            “It’d probably be best if everyone was here,” I said. “So I only have to explain myself once.”

            “Very well,” Ignis said, getting to his feet. Prompto preceded him to the door.

            We were in a caravan. “Oh man,” I whispered, so quiet that Prompto and Ignis didn’t hear me as they descended a short set of stairs and disappeared outside. I flopped back down on the sofa and stared at the ceiling. How was this possible? How did I even get here? I assumed the void in the sky had something to do with it but how did that void connect to my world?

            After a moment, Ignis and Prompto reentered, this time with two more guys in tow. Whom I also recognized. Gladiolus Amicitia and Noctis Lucis Caelum. I sat up again.

            Not even bothering to wait for them to be seated, I took a deep breath. “My name is Nova… Nova Blackfire,” I said. “You guys are Ignis Scientia, Prompto Argentum, Gladiolus Amicitia, and Noctis Lucis Caelum. I know your names because I'm not from here. I'm from a world where you guys are the main characters of a video game. _Final Fantasy Fifteen_. The most recent in a… _long_ series of games that my best friend Amy is much more familiar with than I am. I don’t know how I ended up here and I don’t know how this is possible. All I know is that… I'm here now… and I'm not supposed to be.”

            Prompto was staring at me with his eyes wide and his mouth open. Gladiolus folded his arms with a skeptical expression. Noctis’ eyebrows were raised and Ignis looked disinterestedly curious—if that was possible.

            Thing was, they didn’t look CG. They looked like normal people. Like if their CG models were directly based on real-life people.

            “Close your mouth, Prompto. You’re not a codfish,” I said automatically, barely even thinking about my words. I’d said that line to Bree every time I beat her at _Super Smash Bros._ and it had become a habit. Prompto actually reminded me a lot of Bree—and it wasn’t just because they were both blond.

            “A what?!” Prompto demanded.

            “Shoot,” I muttered. “Forgot. Different world, different animals.”

            “So, now, wait,” Gladiolus said. “Where you’re from, we’re just characters. In a video game.”

            “Yeah.” I nodded.

            “That’s awesome!” Prompto said quietly.

            “Certainly poses interesting questions and ramifications that are worth looking into,” Ignis said.

            Prompto scratched the top of his head. “Is it wrong that I'm questioning my existence now?”

            “No,” I said. “I am too.”

            “You fell out of the sky,” Noctis said.

            “Yeah. One minute I was sitting with my roommates, _playing_ _Final Fantasy Fifteen_ , and the next minute something yanked me down and I was falling. We saw this weird void in the sky not too far from Hammerhead and I took you guys over to look at it. We thought it was a graphics glitch. But there were shoe soles in the middle. Mine, I'm guessing now. I don’t… know what happened, really.”

            “Who do you play as, in the game?” Prompto asked.

            “Usually Noctis. Until you update the skill tree thingies and work your way to getting abilities to switch between everyone in combat,” I said.

            “That’s weird,” Noctis said flatly.

            “Now it is,” I agreed. “I'm having an existential crisis.”

            “Who’s the best to play as?” Prompto continued, lighting up.

            Without even thinking, I replied, “Ignis.” Then stopped. “Well, no. Depends. Full disclosure: I haven’t played the whole game yet. I just barely started, actually. But I _have_ watched Amy play the whole game and gave her suggestions. Ignis’ ice blades are overpowered as _heck_ but flying enemies are a lot easier to take down playing as you, Prompto.”

            “Oh yeah baby!” Prompto exclaimed. I snorted.

            “So now what?” Gladiolus asked. “We’re video game characters with a girl from another world _stuck_ here until further notice. What do we do?”

            “Bring me with you?” I suggested. “You’re going to Altissia for Noctis’ wedding. Let me come with you!”

            Ignis gave me a look and then turned his attention to Noctis. “It’s your decision, Your Highness, and yours alone. However, should you care to know my opinion, she is untrained but her knowledge could prove valuable.”

            “Sure. You can come with us, Nova,” Noctis said. “But if you start slowing us down, we’re gonna leave you behind.”

            I nodded. “Understood.”

            “And stay out of the way when fights start.”

            “You got it,” I agreed. “Ten years of going to awkward parties has prepared me for that.”

            That made Prompto snicker.

            “And who knows—maybe along the way we’ll figure out a way to get you home,” Noctis said.

            I ducked my head. “Thank you.”

*^*^*^*

Bree and Amy stared at the TV screen—it had gone completely blank.

            “What just happened?” Bree demanded. “Where’d Nova go?!”

            “The… game just crashed,” Amy said. “I think… somehow… Nova went _into_ the game!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I'm still working on learning how to use the AO3 format, but this type of story is my JAM so if this is a little messy with the formatting, I hope the story is still kinda fun! Thanks! Questions? Comments? Did I misspell something? Let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter (and the rest of this story) is NOT spoiler-free. If you haven't finished the game yet (or just don't know the whole plot), I don't recommend reading on. Unless you don't care about spoilers. In which case, by all means carry on. Yes this is chapter 3 but it contains spoilers for basically the entire game's plot. Still, enjoy!

“What am I even wearing?” I asked as Ignis helped me get up. The other three had gone outside to rest and talk.

            “I assumed it was clothing,” Ignis said with flat sarcasm, handing me my glass of water—that had been refilled.

            I took a drink and set it down. “Well yeah, but these aren’t my clothes. The black skinny jeans that are cloth instead of denim closely resemble a pair I own but aren’t since these have functional pockets and mine don’t. And I don’t wear tank tops.” The tank top I was in was so dark blue it was nearly black and floral patterned—but subtly, like Ignis’ kinda-cheetah-print purple button-down shirt.

            “Well these are the clothes you were in when you fell from the sky so I'm not sure what to tell you. Though, we did remove these so you could rest better.” He handed me a black jacket with elbow-length sleeves and a pair of leather gauntlets. Unlike Noctis’ gauntlet that was basically a fingerless glove, these were more like my running jacket back home—the top of my palm still visible with thumb holes.

            “This is weird,” I said, pulling the left gauntlet on and then the right. They laced up. “At least my ring and necklace survived.” My watch didn’t though.

            “It’s a pretty necklace,” Ignis offered as I yanked the laces on the gauntlets to tighten them. I was surprised at how well they fit. The tank top was well-fitted as well. I pulled the jacket on too. It was soft.

            I had the weird existential feeling that I was definitely inside a video game because my clothes fit perfectly. I’d never fit _perfectly_ into _anything_. Never had the body type for it. I was always between sizes and was too short for most normal shirts—and the petite shirts were never in the same style.

            “Thanks,” I said, touching my necklace. A pale silver star on a thin chain.

            “Miss Nova—”

            “Just Nova, please.”

            “Alright. Nova. If I may, you have no combat training for our world—”

            “Or in general,” I muttered sarcastically.

            “—and this road will likely bring us face-to-face with danger—”

            _Oh you have no idea,_ I thought.

            “—so if you’d like, Gladio and I could give you some training on how to defend yourself. With any luck you won’t need it, but I believe it would be beneficial to teach you how to fight. We’d start slow. But I do believe you’re meant to come with us so it would be best to be prepared.”

            “Yeah. I’d like that,” I said.

            “Splendid. We’ll start when we’ve left Hammerhead.”

            “Great.”

            I yanked on my left gauntlet’s laces. Too hard. I winced and cursed under my breath.

            “Here,” Ignis said. He reached out and loosened the lace. Gently, he finished tightening it and tied it off.

            “Thanks,” I said, pulling the gauntlets so they weren’t bunching up. It was almost like they loaded and snapped into place so they wouldn’t move any more. It was a bit bizarre. They still moved with my body but didn’t slide down my arm.

            “No problem.” Ignis gestured toward the door. “Shall we?”

            “Uh, yeah. Yeah sure.” I ducked out and trotted down the stairs.

            “So. Now that the one dualhorn mutt is out of the way and the Regalia’s repaired, I'm guessing we’re heading to Galdin?” Gladiolus asked.

            “Indeed,” Ignis agreed. “But first we need to deliver Cindy’s package.”

            “Right,” Gladiolus said.

            “Everyone in the car. Would you care to drive, Noct?” Ignis asked.

            “Can I drive?” I put in. “Not, y’know, _now_ —but sometime? I'm a really good driver. I promise.”

            “We’ll let Iggy be the judge of that,” Gladiolus said.

            “Sometime later we’ll let you drive,” Noctis said. “For now, I want to.”

            “Of course, Your Highness.” I gave him a shallow bow. That felt weird. Growing up in America meant I’d never genuinely called someone “Your Highness” and wouldn’t call the current president that if he threatened to have me shot.

            “And if anyone asks, you’re my little sister,” Gladiolus said, assessing my appearance.

            Brown hair, brown eyes—I could fit the role.

            “Iris?” I asked.

            “No. A middle sibling. Nova Amicitia.”

            “Okay.” I shrugged.

            The five of us got in the Regalia. I sat in the back between Ignis and Gladiolus and tried to take up as little space as possible. I was already pretty small so it wasn’t a difficult task.

            “What’s the forecast?” Noctis asked.

            “Clear skies with the temperature rising,” Ignis said.

            “Great.”

            I glanced at Gladiolus as Noctis pulled out of Hammerhead. He was so much taller in person. A hundred and ninety-eight centimeters—or however tall 6’6” was in centimeters—was a lot bigger when he wasn’t on a screen.

            No way I’d be able to use a greatsword like his. Heck, if he pulled it out right now, it’d probably be taller and wider than me.

            “Why are you staring?” Gladiolus grumped.

            “Ignis said you and he might teach me how to defend myself. It’s just… I don’t think I can fight like you,” I said.

            Gladiolus started to laugh. “No way, kid. You’re too tiny and adorable.”

            “Don’t call me kid. You’re twenty-three. I'm twenty-two,” I snapped.

            “Really? You look so much younger.”

            “I hear that a lot. I stopped growing when I was fourteen so I stayed pretty short… and I dunno I have a youthful face, I guess,” I said. “I get that I look younger than I am all the time. Especially by students I teach.”

            “Oh so you’re a teacher,” Ignis said.

            “Uh, sometimes. I substitute for former teachers at my high school—secondary school, whatever you want to call it—whenever I don’t have any appointments for my real job.”

            “And what is that?”

            “I'm a sign language interpreter.”

            “Fascinating,” Ignis said.

            I lapsed into silence. They kept talking about Hammerhead and Cindy and Prompto’s lack of a car. I had nothing more to say and I knew if I opened my mouth unbidden to do so, I’d start spouting off the game’s plot to them whether they wanted to hear it or not. I figured they wouldn’t want to know too much of the future anyway, so I kept my knowledge to myself. Knowing too much was going to be a problem, and I was going to have to keep a lot of it to myself.

            We’d just pulled out of Hammerhead at the very beginning of the game. I couldn’t even tell them that Insomnia would fall when we made it to Galdin Quay. I couldn’t tell Noctis that his father was going to die. I couldn’t tell Ignis that he was going to lose his eyesight. I couldn’t tell Gladio about the Gilgamesh trial or Prompto where he came from. I couldn’t say anything about the blood price to pay to end the Starscourge. Or who Ardyn really was—oh man. They hadn’t even _met_ Ardyn yet.

            This was going to be even more heartbreaking than just playing the game.

            I felt my shoulders bracing and forced them to relax.

            “Something the matter?” Ignis asked.

            I shook my head. “Nope. Just a little concerned about Noctis behind the wheel.”

            “Hey!” Noctis protested.

            “What?” I retorted playfully. “I'm used to Amy controlling the Regalia and trying her hardest to go four-wheeling through the wild with you at the wheel.”

            “That’s fair,” Gladiolus put in.

            Noctis looked irritated. “Yeah I guess,” he muttered. “But I'm not _that_ bad of a driver.”

            “Oh I'm sure,” I said.

            Prompto turned up the music and the talking went silent again. I watched Ignis this time. But out of the corner of my eye so hopefully he wouldn’t notice. It was kinda freaky to see them as real people instead of CG.

            I blinked hard and closed my eyes. I needed some time to think in solitude—which I wasn’t going to get crammed into a car with four guys who were all between half-a-foot to a-foot-and-a-half taller than me, but I was pretty skilled at tuning out the world while sitting in the back of a car. Heaven knew I’d done it enough times in the car with my family or a bunch of girls from my church youth group.

            A sharp blast of cold lanced through my head. I winced but tried not to bodily recoil.

            My mind filled with the cutscenes from the end of the game. The final boss fight. Noctis telling his dad to trust in him and wielding the full power of the Ring and the Crystal, dissolving into light. I heard Bahamut’s voice saying the speech he gave to Noctis when Noctis was first absorbed by the Crystal. _“Many sacrificed all for the King—so must the King sacrifice himself for all_.”

            I sucked in a sharp breath. My eyes flew open.

            “Nova?” Ignis asked. “What’s wrong?”

            “I… I think I know what I have to do to get home,” I said.

            “And what’s that?” Ignis turned to look at me a little better.

            I brushed some flyaway hairs out of my face. “I think I have to beat the game.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Then we help you beat the game,” Ignis said.

            “Uh… how do we do that?” Prompto asked from the front seat, turning around to face us.

            “Follow the storyline,” I said. “Just… head for Galdin Quay. Then Altissia. The story will… present itself. If I remember correctly it’ll be pretty obvious.”

            “Okay. Sounds good,” Noctis remarked.

            I closed my eyes again, trying to get some peace. Everything inside of me was freaking out. I knew everything that was going to happen to these guys—and I couldn’t tell them any of it or risk my chance at going home. I wondered vaguely if I’d have to actually live through the ten years of darkness—or if it would just kinda blink by while I wildly hallucinated Noctis’ time in the Crystal. Because I probably wouldn’t be getting absorbed with him.

            Yikes. If I had to live through it… that was going to suck. Much as I liked darkness and found it healing and peaceful, I also loved daylight.

            I leaned my head back and paid close attention to the warmth of the sun on my face. Feeling it heat up the black leather of my gauntlets. Strangely, my arms and hands weren’t sweating under them like they would have in the real world. I let a smile drift on my mouth. It was a pleasant summery day. The temperature was just perfect—to the point where it was almost nonexistent. Like I couldn’t feel whether it was warmer or colder than I was all around me.

            I loved it.

            I must have drifted off because the next thing I was aware of was Noctis braking a little too hard outside an inn, making my face fall off Ignis’ shoulder.

            “Oh gosh. Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

            “Quite alright. No harm done,” Ignis said, getting out of the car and holding the door open for me. I climbed out and looked around while Noctis approached the window where the clerk was. They talked for a moment before Noctis got distracted by a dark brown dog on the way back to the car and the clerk at the front desk followed Gladio to the trunk to get out whatever Cindy had put in.

            “Umbra,” I said.

            “You know—? Of course you do,” Prompto said. Ignis just studied me intently.

            I met his gaze steadily, staring back with eyebrows raised in a question I didn’t actually have.

            Noctis knelt in front of Umbra.

            “Bringin’ us stuff! Atta boy!” Prompto exclaimed.

            “That dog can really track a scent,” Gladiolus said.

            “Certainly ‘nose’ how to find us,” Ignis agreed, looking away from me finally.

            I snorted. I forgot that Ignis made puns too.

            “How _do_ you always know, boy?” Prompto asked Umbra—who didn’t respond.

            “Just a sec,” Noctis muttered, taking a notebook out from Umbra’s little pack. His back mostly blocked my view, but I knew what he was doing. Writing to Luna. I smirked to myself and leaned against the side of the Regalia, turning my face up toward the sun.

            “You enjoy this weather, don’t you?” Ignis asked quietly, leaning against the car too.

            “Yeah,” I replied. “Summer’s always been my favorite. Warm and bright and clear. Nothing better.”

            “Mmm… I suppose you’re right,” Ignis said. “I prefer summer because the light makes it easier to see and cook. The longer days are ideal for this particular journey.” He folded his arms and watched Noctis stand up after telling the dog to take care. Umbra barked and went running off.

            “I knooowww… you’re not gonna tell me—” Prompto began.

            “Then don’t ask,” Noctis retorted.

            “—what was that about?” Prompto finished.

            Noctis didn’t answer. Just sighed and nodded to Ignis, who pushed off from the side of the car.

            “Ya don’t say,” Prompto said sarcastically.

            “Now that our work’s done, let’s see ourselves to Galdin,” Ignis said.

            “To Galdin,” Noctis agreed.

            Ignis took the wheel, putting me between Noctis and Gladio. I didn’t mind. Noctis was smaller than Ignis so there was a little more room.

            I could feel my eyes were still heavy from my little nap so I leaned my head back against the headrest and closed them. I was vaguely aware of the fact that the radio was playing something about Luna’s statement about the treaty, but I wasn’t paying attention enough to focus on the words. Prompto seemed surprised about something in her statement, and Ignis said something dismissive, Gladiolus grumbled something sarcastic. There was a question, a vague answer, and then Gladiolus and Prompto teasing Noctis about something. Noctis told Prompto to buzz off. I snorted. I recognized their dialogue and banter from playing through the game with Amy, but didn’t pay attention to it too closely.

            And I drifted in and out of consciousness again.

            Until…

            “Hey! I see the sea!” Prompto exclaimed—so loudly it was like a shriek. My eyes snapped open.

            “I ‘sea’ it too,” Noctis said.

            “That’s Galdin Quay,” Ignis said.

            Galdin Quay. Once we were there and met Ardyn and tried to get a ferry ride from Dino the reporter after completing a hunt for gemstones, Insomnia would fall.

            The thought was driven out of my mind when I sat up a little further in the seat to look past Noctis toward the ocean. My mouth fell open even though I’d seen the ocean back home in the real world several times before. It was beautiful. Deep blue with sunlight glittering off of it. Aggressively fantastical despite how _real_ everything looked.

            “Kinda wanna go for a dip,” Gladiolus remarked.

            “Same,” I said, craning my neck to see over the side of the car.

            “That a big mountain behind it?” Noctis asked.

            “No, it’s an island,” Ignis answered.

            “Nobody goes to Galdin for an island though,” Prompto said dismissively. “They go to kick back and get massages.”

            “That sounds divine,” I said.

            “And savor the seafood. It’s famously delicious,” Ignis added.

            “Sounds great,” Noctis said. I gagged. Never liked seafood. But none of the boys noticed so I didn’t get called out on it.

            “Somethin’ to look forward to,” Gladiolus agreed.

            “Ick,” I muttered.

            “What, don’t you like seafood?” Gladiolus asked me.

            “Nope. Never have,” I said.

            “Wait… seriously?” Noctis wondered.

            “Noctis, you’ll find out that in several respects I'm a pickier eater than you. I, unlike you, like quite a few vegetables, but there are a _lot_ of other things I'm not a big fan of,” I said matter-of-factly. He glanced at me in confusion but apparently didn’t know what to say as we rolled ever closer to Galdin. So he didn’t say anything.

            “Kid, you look like you’ve never seen the ocean before,” Gladiolus said to me as the car went around a corner and the ocean was on Gladiolus’ side of the car rather than Noctis’. I shot him a look.

            “Oh I have,” I said. “But in the real world it’s not this pretty. Not in certain places anyway.”

            After a few more moments of driving, Ignis parked the car and everyone piled out. I was the last out since I was the only one not sitting directly next to a door. I could have climbed over the back but that seemed really stupid. So I just waited patiently and bounded out after Noctis.

            “Smell that sea air!” I exclaimed. “Fresh and salty and crisp and aaahhh!”

            Noctis snorted and glanced at Ignis. “Get a load of this kid,” he said.

            I pointed at him accusingly. “Excuse you, _Your Highness_ , I am _two years_ older than you,” I snapped. Noctis just bounced his eyebrows at me, looked at Ignis again, and then headed for a boardwalk that led to a large structure out in the water, rising over the waves on stilts. It appeared the be—

            The restaurant where they meet Ardyn.

            I took a deep breath and followed after him. Ignis, Prompto, and Gladiolus all joined me. Ignis fell into step beside me as Prompto and Gladiolus jogged to catch up with Noctis. “Are you alright, Nova? You look tense,” Ignis said.

            “I'm fine,” I said. “I'm sure the stilts are safe but… I dunno it makes me anxious to see so much supported by so little.” What a total lie. But so far no one had realized when I was lying or not so I wasn’t going to say anything.

            “Welcome to Galdin Quay,” a man said, standing on the wooden terrace of the restaurant, giving our party a little bow.

            “Thank you,” I said as I passed him, given none of the others said anything.

            As we approached the covered part of the restaurant, I saw him. Purplish-reddish hair, totally impractical outfit including a scarf and long coat despite the summer heat, long nose and glittering eyes.

            Ardyn.

            I clenched my jaw—and my fists—as he stepped up to the five of us. “I'm afraid you’re out of luck,” he said, pleasant but bored.

            “Are we?” Noctis challenged flatly.

            Ardyn gestured behind him, toward the dock farther out to sea. “The boats bring you here,” he said.

            “What about ‘em?” Prompto asked.

            “Well, they’ll not take you forth,” Ardyn said, glancing back.

            “And what’s your story?” Gladiolus asked suspiciously.

            _Don’t say anything, Nova. Not a single thing,_ I reminded myself. They wouldn’t find out who he _really_ was for another little while and I didn’t want to screw up the story and risk compromising my way home.

            I fell to the back of the group as the boys all stepped forward but I stayed put.

            “I'm an impatient traveler; ready to turn ship,” Ardyn said evasively. He stepped between the boys, heading right for me. “The ceasefire’s getting us nowhere.” He turned and flicked a coin off his thumb toward Noctis. Gladiolus snatched it out of the air.

            “What’s this, some sorta souvenir?” Gladiolus demanded.

            Prompto gasped. “They make those?”

            “What? No,” Noctis said quietly.

            “Consider it your allowance,” Ardyn said with a little arm flourish.

            “Huh?” Prompto wondered.

            “Yeah—and who’s allowing us?” Gladio growled.

            Ardyn spread his arms. “A man of no consequence,” he said, turning around toward me again.

            “Yeah right,” Noctis scoffed.

            I stepped directly into Ardyn’s path, eyes narrowed and body quivering with fury. “Listen,” I hissed. “You may have them fooled for now, but not me. I know who you really are— _Ardyn Lucis Caelum_. And I know what you want.”

            Ardyn tilted his head to the side and sized me up. His eyes finished their sweep and he leaned down to be closer to my eye level. He placed his left hand on my left shoulder. For a moment his eyes were so cold and dead I thought he was actually going to manifest floating, glowing purple weapons and skewer me through the gut.

            Until, oddly, his expression softened.

            “Ah… you carry the weight of the world in your eyes, little one,” he said. Using his grip on my shoulder as a turning point, he stepped around me. “Be careful not to let it crush you.”

            With that, he strolled away.


	5. Chapter 5

“What was that about?” Ignis asked as I caught up to the rest of the group.

            “Just… do me one favor and don’t trust that guy,” I said.

            “You know more than you’re letting on, Nova,” he said.

            “Obviously.” I shrugged. “C’mon. Best not to fall behind.”

            Noctis led us to the empty docks. There were a couple people on the dock. Dino the reporter and a couple standing at a sign saying something about a holdup in Altissia.

            “Not a ship in sight. What gives?” Prompto asked.

            Everyone looked at me. “Ask him,” I said, gesturing to Dino, who seemed delighted to interject himself into our conversation.

            “According to my sources, the empire. Given strict orders not to let any vessels leave the docks of Altissia,” Dino said. Noctis approached him while I hung at the back of the group. At least the dialogue meant the story was moving unblemished by my arrival, despite my threat to Ardyn. “Real shame if you were late to your own wedding, right Prince Noctis? Name’s Dino, by the way. Pleasure.” The reporter paused briefly. “The crown prince o’ Lucis, bounty hunting in his fancy car. Surely you didn’t think it’d go unnoticed. At least not by _this_ reporter.” Okay I remembered those lines. The plot was still on track. Good. “Lucky for you, this reporter has integrity. If you wanna remain incognito, I’ll respect your wish—in exchange for a favor.”

            I snickered at the Brooklyn accent. Cindy’s might have been Southern and Dino’s Brooklyn while Ignis was _British_ , but I was trying to figure out how the accents correlated to the places in this world.

            Noctis paused for a moment. “What do you want?”

            “Hey, I knew you’d come around. Let me see your map.”

            Noctis handed it over. Dino pulled out a pencil and made a note on the map. “Marked where you need to go. All you gotta do is find me some rough gemstones, like this one. Do this, and your ship will come in. Don’t, and the papers’ll run you outta town. _Capisce?_ ”

            Noctis pursed his lips. “Fine.” He moved to leave while Ignis skeptically glared at the empty dock.

            “Out of service indeed,” he muttered.

            Noctis ignored him and headed up the stairs back into the restaurant.

            “Hoo! He’s really got your number, Noct,” Prompto remarked, sounding impressed at Dino’s tenacity.

            “Not like we made much effort to keep it a secret,” Gladiolus reasoned.

            “Even if we _had_ , the press _always_ finds a way,” Ignis muttered irritably. “We needn’t befriend him, but we’d best not make him our enemy.” I snorted. _Needn’t_ was such a funny word to me. Especially since no one really used it anymore and Ignis was probably the only person who could pull it off without sounding pretentious. We made our way through the rest of the restaurant and back to the car. “Everything in order?” Ignis asked as we piled in.

            “Yup,” Noctis agreed.

            “Alright,” Gladiolus said. The car’s roof retracted and off we went.

            Noctis glanced at me. “Are we doing the right thing?” he asked quietly as Ignis pulled out. We drove past some palm trees.

            I nodded. “This is the right way,” I said.

            “Maybe Cid was right about your lack of dignity,” Gladiolus interrupted before I could say anything more.

            “Rude,” I muttered under my breath even though the point was kinda valid.

            “You’re one step above delivery boy,” Prompto said, agreeing with Gladio.

            “Hm. The royal rank carries little weight outside the Crown City,” Ignis remarked.

            “Glad it’s not weighing me down,” Noctis said. Prompto leaned forward and turned up some music.

            I liked the car rides. It gave me time to think. Was I a complete idiot for threatening Arydn? Yes. Did I regret it? Not really. I was fairly certain that nothing I could do would _truly_ derail the story—just delay the action. This wasn’t like Undertale where the decisions you made changed the ending you got. Final Fantasy XV had one ending—and a few non-canon ones in Episode Ignis.

            Although I had debated the canonicity of those endings with Amy a couple times when we played through them. I just kinda held that they probably weren’t totally 100% canon just because they were in a DLC and not the main game but could be alternate universes in a weird way. While Amy on the other hand maintained that the Possibilities ending where Ignis tried to sacrifice himself was 100% canon and the only ending to story that she could accept because the real ending to the game was too sad. Which was totally fair but we still weren’t sure if Square Enix officially considered those endings canon or not and hadn’t ever bothered to look it up because we enjoyed the debates too much.

            “Nova,” Ignis said from the wheel, knocking me out of my reverie.

            “Yeah? What?” I asked.

            “I'm not entirely sure what we’re walking into here. In the event of something bad happening, I want you to stay at the back of the group and avoid anything dangerous. Should some sort of wildlife or monster get close to you, retreat and get one of us,” Ignis said. I opened my mouth. “ _Until_ you learn how to handle yourself in battle,” he added.

            “Uh… okay,” I said.

            Ignis let go of the wheel and something manifested in his hand. A dagger. Shorter than the ones he used but just as elegant. “I picked this up before we left Hammerhead for you. If you absolutely must attack, go for the eyes and throat. It’s safer to dual-wield but for now I think it’s best to limit yourself to one.”

            “Sure. Thanks.” I took the dagger from his hand. It had a leather-wrapped hilt and was a bit lighter than I thought it would be.

            The moment the dagger was in my hand I felt some sort of strange connection to it. Like its essence was tied to my soul. I blinked in surprise. “What’s… going on?” I mumbled, examining the exquisite blade.

            “That’s the magic that will allow you to conjure and dissolve your weapon,” Noctis said.

            “Doesn’t that power come from you?” I asked.

            “In a roundabout way, I guess,” Noctis said.

            “You’re… sharing your magic with me,” I said.

            That earned me a small smile. “You’re one of us now,” he remarked. “Go on. Try and make it disappear.”

            “H-how?”

            “Just imagine it vanishing and will it to leave.”

            I tightened my grip on the hilt and sucked in a breath. Staring at the way the silvery blade gleamed in the sun, I concentrated on the sensation of the dagger in my hand. _Disappear. Vanish. Leave. Dissolve. Go away,_ I thought commandingly.

            It went away in a puff of sparkling light.

            “Whoa!” I exclaimed.

            Noctis chuckled and leaned back smugly in his seat. “Just imagine it reappearing in your hand the next time you need it,” he said.

            “Uh… sure.”

            Something flickered in my vision at my left arm.

            When I looked, I almost gasped.

            An HP meter and an MP meter had appeared on the underside of my arm, like a hologram against my gauntlet.

            When I turned my arm, the edges of the hologram vanished, only to reappear when I twisted my arm to look again. The MP meter had gone down a few points from using the magic on my dagger. But after a few moments of watching, it rejuvenated itself, so the meter was at full strength.

            This was happening. I was part of the game now.


	6. Chapter 6

Now that I was _in_ the game instead of just playing it on Amy’s PS4, the markers that showed me where to go no longer existed, meaning I’d have to rely on memory to see if I remembered the landscape well enough to guide myself—and maybe even the boys—through it.

            Ignis pulled over to the side of the road and everyone got out. Prompto sighed. “Do we _have_ to walk?” he complained.

            “Stop whining,” I retorted, already following Noctis as he read the map and started making his way toward the note Dino had written on it. “How old are you, twelve?”

            “Twenty!” he protested.

            “Then act like it.”

            “You sound like a mother,” Prompto said. I shrugged.

            “You sure we’re in the right spot?” Noctis asked, looking up from the map and looking around.

            “According to the map. Let’s scope it out,” Gladiolus commented.

            “Gladiolus is right,” I said, recognizing the road sign from my play-through with Amy. “We’re close.” Everyone stared at me like I was absolutely bonkers. “What?” I asked.

            “I don’t think anyone’s used Gladio’s full first name in years,” Noctis said.

            “Well I didn’t think I was on a short-name basis with you guys yet,” I said, edging around him and leading everyone around the rocky, mountainous area toward a hill I remembered from how _long_ it took me and Amy to find it.

            “Please, Nova, you’re supposed to be my little sister, remember? Gladio is just fine,” Gladiolus—Gladio—said.

            “And I'm good with Noct,” Noctis said. “There’s really no need to stand on ceremony with us. We’re pretty low-key.”

            “Okay. Gladio and Noct it is,” I said, mounting the hill. “Now, if we’re in the right place—and I think we are—we’ll need to keep it down when we get to the top, okay? We don’t want to wake up anything we’re… not prepared to handle.”

            “Wh… what is she talking about?” Prompto asked as Noctis, Gladio, and Ignis followed me up the hill. He fell into the rear of our little train.

            “I suppose we’ll find out when we reach the top,” Ignis said, sounding as chill and reasonable as he always was. Though, maybe chill was the wrong term. Stoic? Collected? Maybe that worked better.

            “Oh… em… gee…” Prompto whispered as we crested the hill. “What… is that?”

            “A really aggressive oversized chicken,” I said sarcastically. “Now ssshhh! Don’t be such a wimp.”

            The giant bird was snoring as it slept. I didn’t even want to guess how big it was. It seemed like the size of the flying colossus from _Shadow of the Colossus_ —which Amy and I played when we were in junior high. That was to say: it was frickin’ _massive_ and towered higher than any animal had a right to be.

            I crouched and started to creep around it.

            “We’re supposed to get near that thing?” Prompto squeaked.

            “Pipe down before you wake it up,” Gladio growled.

            “C’mon!” I whispered, beckoning them to follow me. Noctis caught up to me quickly as we carefully snuck through the underbrush.

            “What more do you know about what’s coming?”

            “Bits and pieces,” I lied quietly. The real answer was _just about everything._ “I watched Amy play it but that was quite a while ago at this point and to be honest I spent most of the time on my phone since she was having more fun dinking around Eos, procrastinating the main story.”

            “Why?”

            I shrugged. “Because all the side content was more fun I guess? I dunno. The main story isn’t even terribly long. I heard some people beat the thing in about twenty-five hours and they were slightly under-leveled.”

            Prompto slipped a little in the grass and cried out. Noctis and I both shushed him. The giant bird shuffled in its sleep. I sucked in a deep breath in anticipation. We were almost all the way around. Noctis nudged me in the arm. “Look. There’s the gemstones!” he hissed. I looked forward. Sure enough, there was a pile of rocks with deep garnet glittering in the pleasant sunlight.

            We tiptoed a little faster and gathered some of the garnet, putting it in Noctis’ pocket. Heaven knew his pockets were deep enough—not fair.

            “Let’s go,” I whispered.

            We headed back, keeping our eye on the colossal bird as it snoozed. Noctis quickly overtook me so I fell to the middle of the pack. He was pretty fast.

            As I tripped on a rock, Ignis’ hand lashed out and caught mine, steadying me. “Thanks,” I muttered.

            “Pleasure,” he said, not letting me go so he could guide me.

            Normally that would have embarrassed me to death but it was Ignis and I still had a major crush on him so I decided not to say anything.

            We were halfway around the bird and back to the hill when it woke, spreading enormous wings—including a pair on its neck—and crying out to the high blue sky. I crouched as low as I could, dragging Ignis down with me. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and held me down. The bird took to the sky with a powerful downdraft that would have blown me right over had I been standing up fully.

            “Off it goes,” Ignis said as the bird vanished behind some hills.

            Noctis sighed. “We made it out alive.”

            “Barely!” Prompto exclaimed. “I seriously thought… we were at journey’s end…”

            “Drama king,” I said as I straightened up and headed for the hill that we’d climbed up without stealth this time.

            “But that feat was fit for a king,” Gladio said approvingly.

            “Indeed,” Ignis agreed. I grunted.

            The five of us got back in the car and Ignis began to drive us back to Galdin. It would be near sundown by the time we reached the port town if I had a guess. Meaning Insomnia was going to fall tonight.

            I looked at the boys around me. Insomnia was their home. And I was keeping a massive secret from them about it. They were going to be so mad at me if/when they found out I’d known the entire time.

            As the landscape flashed by, I replayed what I remembered of the Kingsglaive movie in my head. Amy and I had watched it when Bree had gone back to her parents’ house for a weekend and we couldn’t think of anything else to watch. Bree wasn’t as into the _Final Fantasy XV_ universe—or _Final Fantasy_ in general—as Amy and I were so we figured she wouldn’t mind if we watched it without her.

            I dug into the pockets of my weird jacket with the elbow-length sleeves to see if my phone had come through the portal with me into the _FFXV_ world. I hadn’t even been gone for that long and I was already missing my best friends.

            My fingers brushed something in my pocket. I yanked it out.

            A phone.

            But not _my_ phone. This one didn’t have an “indestructible” blue case. It was bigger and thinner than my phone too. Huh.

            I sighed and went back to remembering Kingsglaive. Some of the events of that movie were happening back in Insomnia right now and the massive climactic fight was going to happen tonight. And I couldn’t say a single word or do a single thing without jeopardizing my way home.

            Plagued by sad thoughts of what was coming, I followed at the back of the group when we reached Galdin once again to go talk to Dino.

            “Nice work, kid! Sorry for giving you such a hard time. I just had to get my hands on this, even if it meant blackmail. You understand, don’tcha? Y’see, I'm a reporter by day and an amateur jeweler by night. This elusive little beauty’s gonna become a masterpiece.” He grinned while Ignis stared at him skeptically. “To make it up to ya, I’ll share a little scoop. That special coin you got—it commemorates the Oracle’s ascension. That guy was tossin’ ‘em out to everyone. Musta picked ‘em up back in Niflheim.”

            I decided that Dino talked too much. Probably liked hearing the sound of his own voice.

            “And speakin’a freebies, here’s one from me. Come back if you wanna buy more!” He handed Noctis a garnet bracelet. Noctis immediately handed it to me. I tucked it into my pocket.

            “I doubt a souvenir like that could make its way into the hands of an ordinary citizen,” Ignis mused.

            Prompto folded his arms nonchalantly. “Oh well. It’s our pocket change now,” he said.

            “Not sure it would function as currency,” I said. “I have the queen of England’s Silver Jubilee commemorative coin that my aunt gave me but that doesn’t mean I could use it to buy ice cream.”

            “Indeed,” Ignis said, giving me an approving nod that made me internally fist-pump.

            “Fair point,” Prompto said.

            “Sun’s gonna go down soon,” I said.

            “Let’s learn from history and book a place this time,” Gladio said.

            “As promised,” Dino continued. He definitely talked too much. “I'm in the process of securing your ferry tickets right now. Told ya, I'm a man of integrity. Should be smooth sailin’ from here, so let me know when you’re ready to ship out.”

            “I admit, I didn’t expect _Dino_ to secure us a ship,” Ignis remarked with his arms folded.

            “Well, must be pretty connected if he can pull some strings around an imperial embargo,” Gladio said.

            “Yeah. That guy’s one artful artisan,” Prompto said.

            With that, the five of us went strolling through Galdin Quay to find a nice hotel to spend the night in before sailing for Altissia in the morning—or so the boys thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (For anyone who hasn't watched SuperButterBuns' "Final Fantasy XV For Beginners" video, that's where the "aggressive oversized chicken" joke comes from. It's a great video, would recommend it!) Also, if I left out a word or made a typo, please let me know! I do check, but sometimes I miss stuff! Thanks!


	7. Chapter 7

“You’re sure you’re alright, Nova?” Ignis asked as I shoved the rollaway bed against the window. “We can easily book a separate room for you—”

            “I'm fine, Ignis,” I insisted, shucking off my jacket and dropping it on the rollaway twin-sized bed. “I trust you guys. And if I don’t… well, I guess we’ll see how fast I learn how to use this.” I lifted my hand. The dagger appeared in my fist. I waved it boredly and made it disappear again. The magic was so cool—had I been on my own I would have messed around with it.

            “Speaking of, I believe we should begin your training,” Ignis said. He slipped his blazer jacket off and threw it down next to mine, gloves quickly joining the pile. “Follow me.”

            I did. He led me outside and to the beach. Once we were on the sand, he pulled his shoes off and indicated for me to do the same. As I bent down, my braid fell onto my shoulder. My hair had been down before I fell through to the _FFXV_ world, but if I were a video game designer and graphics programmer I would program my hair in a braid too. It was hip-length and thick—it would glitch like crazy if it hung loose.

            Ignis unbuttoned his purplish, vaguely-cheetah-print shirt and folded it neatly on top of his shoes, leaving him in a tank top undershirt underneath. He raised his fists and summoned his daggers. I summoned my single one.

            “I’ll walk you through a few moves first. And then we’ll practice.”

            “Just don’t make me kick it,” I said.

            “No. That’s too advanced for where you are right now,” Ignis remarked.

            “Good. ‘Cause I still haven’t figured out how that’s a practical move-set.”

            Ignis chuckled. “Maybe one day you will.”

            “Eh. Doubt it. Now come on. Show me,” I said.

            The smirk on his face was dangerously hot and definitely didn’t help my crush on him.

            “Now, the thing to remember about daggers is you have to be fast. We fight closer to our enemy than Prompto and Gladio with the reach of their weapons. So let’s start with speed and seeing how quick your reflexes are.”

            “Okaaay,” I said. “But just so you know, I've got lightning reflexes.”

            “Trash-talking is unbecoming in a training session Nova. Save it for sparring,” Ignis said.

            I snorted. “Hey. I'm not kidding. I do have good reflexes.”

            “I’ll be the judge of that. Should you prove less-than-capable of dagger combat, Gladio is more than qualified to instruct you in the ways of a shortsword.”

            “Yeah… no. I don’t think I'm strong enough for swords. They’re heavy.”

            Ignis gave me a look that involved a raised eyebrow and the left corner of his mouth tugging up in a half-smirk. “Then let us see what you’ve got,” he said. I smiled at him and tightened my grip on my dagger.

            “Okay.”

            He started out a little slow. He was far less tough-love than Gladio, but there were a few moments that my gauntlet got smacked with the flat of one of his daggers when I got distracted by the sunset or the waves or a couple walking along the beach who somehow didn’t seem to notice a man and a girl in tank tops holding daggers and swinging them around.

            But he was an efficient and effective teacher. Maybe it was because we were inside a video game where everything came with the touch of a button. You unlock a certain move and then push a button to use that move in combat.

            “Not bad. You’re a fast learner. Run through that again,” Ignis instructed.

            I did, trying to replicate his movements as best I could.

            “Good… doing well…” he muttered.

            When I finished, he smiled.

            “Quite well,” he decided. “I daresay you’re a quick learner. I believe you will be cut out for dagger combat.”

            “Oh good. Because I don’t want to learn how to use swords just yet. I'm not strong enough to even lift one. If Gladio handed me his sword I’d get _taken down_ immediately just trying to pick up the handle. No thanks.”

            That made him chuckle. “Most people would. Gladio’s sword is uniquely heavy. He hits hard and brute force is his main fighting style.”

            “I know,” I said.

            “Now. We’re going to try something.” He threw one of his daggers with expert ease into the sand. “You’re going to try and hit me using what you’ve just learned,” he said. “And we’ll see if my defensive skills are as up-to-scratch as they should be in the process. After that I’ll teach you how to sharpen your blade and take care of it and then we’ll call it a night.”

            “Okay,” I said. “You’re sure about this?”

            “If you manage to hit me at your level, I deserve it. I’ll go easy on you. I'm just blocking.”

            I took a deep breath, apprehensive. “Okaaay…”

            He flipped his remaining dagger into a defensive position. “Have at me,” he challenged.

            I took a swing.

            _CLANG!_

*^*^*^*

“Guys, come look at this,” Noctis said from the window of the hotel room.

            “What?” Prompto asked, looking up from his phone. Noctis beckoned him over to the window. Prompto got up and stood next to him while Gladio trailed behind, standing a step back.

            Out on the beach, Ignis and Nova were sparring.

            Well, not “sparring” so much as Nova was throwing swipes and Ignis was blocking them with practiced ease.

            Both of them were smiling.

            “Are they… flirting or fighting?” Prompto asked.

            “Probably both,” Gladio said, sounding bored.

            Noctis scoffed. “Specs doesn’t know how to _flirt_ ,” he said. “Dude’s practically half-robot.”

            That made Gladio snort. “Clearly you don’t know Ignis as well as he knows you. Guy’s pretty smooth when he wants to be,” he said.

            As if on cue, Nova threw her head back in laughter that they could see from several yards away, holding Ignis’ dagger away while her arm was shaking from the effort and her laughter. She whipped her braid off her shoulder and threw another reckless swing—that Ignis blocked.

            “Twenty gil they kiss before Noct’s wedding,” Prompto said.

            “I’ll take that bet,” Gladio said.

            Noctis was quiet for a moment. “Y’know what, I'm gonna take that bet too. _But_ if they kiss for the first time any time _after_ my wedding, you’ll owe me forty gil.”

            “You are so on. Because there’s no way they’re gonna kiss for the first time _after_ your wedding,” Prompto said.

*^*^*^*

“By the way,” Ignis commented, panting, and nodding at my right fist’s grip on the hilt of my dagger where our blades were crossed near my head. “I never asked you who the lucky fiancé is.”

            “Fiancé?!” I demanded, staring at his eyes. Teal with a hint of gray was how I first described them. Maybe “seafoam green” was more accurate. There was still blue and gray but they were mostly a light but vibrant green.

            Whatever color they were, they were intense and very attractive.

            “Yes. That’s an engagement ring is it not?”

            I glanced at the ring I wore. Silver with a blue crest on it that I’d had since I was eighteen. “Oh no! Where I'm from we wear engagement and wedding rings on our _left_ -hand ring finger.”

            “Ah. In that case my apologies. Here it’s on the right.”

            I shrugged. “No harm done,” I said.

            “Thank you. Let’s get back to business, then.” He bent his knees and shoved me off. I stumbled in the sand a little.

            Once I was a pace away, I fixed my grip on my dagger and took another swipe at him. Instead of a flat block that stopped my blade in its swing, he deflected it, using my momentum to spin me around. His blade whipped up to my throat, his free hand clenching into a fist around my braid and into my tank top between my shoulder blades. His arm had linked through mine, holding my blade in a lock so I couldn’t do anything.

            “Good, but not good enough yet, Nova,” he murmured in my ear, almost growling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. This is one of my favorite chapters so far!


	8. Chapter 8

Ignis sat up before dawn, as he often did, and snuck out of the bed to creep into the bathroom and get ready for the day in peace and quiet, pushing his glasses onto his face. He didn’t even need an alarm clock anymore. He just woke up and off he went.

            But he forgot there was a rollaway bed in the room—and tripped on it.

            “Drat,” he hissed. He glanced at the occupant of the bed.

            She was so small. Curled up on her left side to face the room with her back to the window, she had one hand under her face and her hair spread out over the pillow.

            With a little coo, she shuffled in her sleep. One eye peeled open. “What’s goin’ on?” she mumbled quietly.

            “Tripped. I'm sorry, Nova. Go back to sleep,” Ignis replied just as quietly. He brushed a strand of hair off her face soothingly.

            “Mmm…” she sighed.

            Ignis ducked into the bathroom and got ready—showered, dressed, styled his hair. Galdin Quay wasn’t a place known for its wealth of knowledge, so any research he might be able to do about the fact that Nova was from a world where they were video game characters wouldn’t be particularly effective in Galdin.

            Once he was all ready, he flicked the light off and opened the bathroom door.

            Nova was lacing up her gauntlets, dressed with her hair braided, sitting on her rollaway bed. Her red-soled black boots were sitting just to the side of where her feet were dangling off the bed. “Morning,” she whispered, so soft Ignis could barely hear her.

            A touch of dawn was lighting up the horizon.

            “Good morning,” Ignis replied. “Since you’re up, would you care to join me for a walk?”

            She shrugged. “Sure,” she said. Once she tied the laces of her gauntlet, she pulled on her boots and pushed herself to her feet.

            Feeling the urge to resort to good manners, Ignis offered her his elbow. “Shall we?”

            She grinned and took his arm. “Yes,” she replied.

            He escorted her out of the room.

*^*^*^*

“Beautiful morning,” Ignis remarked as we strolled around Galdin so Ignis could look at shops and look for newspapers. I hung onto his arm loosely, just taking in the sights and knowing this was some of the last peace we’d be able to really enjoy.

            “Indeed,” I agreed.

            “You know, Nova, I believe you were brought here by some sort of warping magic.”

            “Maybe. It just… seems so strange. The laws of our worlds are similar yet so different. Magic doesn’t really exist where I'm from. It’s just imaginative. Yet here… it’s commonplace.”

            “Well, no. Not really. Magic is fairly limited, however it is known and mildly understood.”

            “Right. That’s what I meant.”

            Ignis chuckled. There were a few moments of silence.

            “I never truly commended you on your quick learning,” he mused. “You picked up the beginnings of dagger combat faster than I would have expected from someone who has no combat training. I'm impressed.”

            “Thanks,” I said. Dawn was really lighting up the world now. It was beautiful. I didn’t really _like_ waking up early to watch the sunrise, but the first night in an unfamiliar place was always hard for me when it came to sleeping so I just sucked up my irritation at the early morning and decided a walk with Ignis would be somewhat enjoyable.

            Until he got a newspaper that said Insomnia had fallen. The other reason for my messy sleep. I’d been playing the last part of Kingsglaive in my head half the night, knowing what was happening in Insomnia and that the boys were going to be devastated about the loss of their home and livid when they found out I knew it was going to happen but didn’t say anything to prepare them for it.

            I could only hope they’d forgive me.

            “Ah. In here,” Ignis said, pulling my hand on his arm toward a shop door. With the coming of the dawn, stores were opening up.

            “Morning!” the friendly clerk greeted.

            “Good morning,” Ignis replied politely. “Nova why don’t you look around for anything you might enjoy and meet me back at the front?” He set his free hand on top of my hand. “You said you were rather picky, right?”

            “Well… yeah,” I admitted. “Sure it’s not too much trouble?”

            “None at all. Trust me, if I can handle Noct’s palate for a dozen years, I can handle yours.”

            “Thanks, Ignis.”

            He narrowed his eyes at me from behind his glasses. “The occasional ‘Iggy’ is acceptable, Nova.” The comment brought a smile to his face. He patted my hand and dropped his other arm where it was escorting me so my hand slid off his elbow. “You’re one of us now. Consider us your friends.”

            “Okay… Iggy,” I said, a small forming on my lips.

            He nodded towards the aisles of the store. “Meet you back here.”

            “Sure thing.” I turned on the ball of my foot and went to stroll around the store. It wasn’t terribly big—about the size of any convenience store I’d ever been in—so it didn’t take me long to look through everything.

            The brands were different but everything looked kind of the same as it did back in the real world. Like the designs were rip-off, vaguely-copyright-infringement brands.

            I snickered and picked out some snacks while Ignis browsed the coffee in the refrigerated section on the walls. I went over and stood next to him. “I'm thinking Ebony. Do you have a preference?” he asked when he realized I was standing there.

            “I do. None. Coffee is gross,” I said blandly.

            “You think so?”

            “Yeah. Smells bitter and sad and I assume it tastes the same way.”

            That made him chuckle. “Alright. What about energy drinks? Noct uses them to make healing potions. Which brand would you prefer?”

            “You’re gonna laugh at me: none. I try not to have caffeinated drinks. Coffee and energy drinks give you a little more energy but they ruin your stamina and I'm more interested in the natural energy my body can make. I'm really just a water drinker.”

            Ignis glanced at me as he pulled a few cans of coffee and energy drinks out of the fridge. “Why would I laugh at you?”

            “I dunno. A lot of people do. They think I'm weird ‘cause I don’t like coffee.” I shrugged.

            “I don’t think so.” Ignis turned his gaze to the stuff I was holding. “Picked everything you’d like?”

            “Yup.”

            He offered me his arm again. I took it. “Then we should get going. Gladio will be awake and on a run on the beach soon, meaning Prompto and Noct will be woken when he returns so we should head back.”

            “Right.”

            We went up to the counter.

            The clerk beamed at us. “Oh! Congratulations!” he said.

            “Pardon?” Ignis asked.

            “For what?” I asked at the same time.

            “Your engagement!” The clerk nodded to where my right hand was holding Ignis’ left elbow. My ring was clearly visible over the top of my gauntlet.

            I felt my ears growing warm and I wished my hair wasn’t braided so I could hide that they were probably turning red. “Oh. Uh—we’re not—uh…”

            “Thank you,” Ignis replied smoothly with a grin. He gave me an _I told you so_ look when the clerk couldn’t see his face, that was quickly replaced by a rather satisfied smirk that I glared at. I swore he was baiting me into falling for him. It wasn’t fair since I was already so far gone for him _before_ I fell into his world.

            A van drove up outside and dropped a stack of bundled paper outside the door. “Op! Newspaper’s here!” the clerk exclaimed.

            Ignis glanced over. “We’ll take one of those too,” he said.

            The clerk went out to go pick up the stack—

            And stared at the headline in shock. The color drained from his face and his mouth fell open.

            Ignis looked at me. “What’s going on, Nova?”

            I sighed. “It’s… Insomnia,” I said.

            “ _What?!_ ”

            The clerk scrambled to pick up the newspapers and bring them inside. He fumbled with the twine tying the stack together and ended up cutting it instead of untying it. He handed one to Ignis—who snatched it as gently as he could but as sharply as he dared.

            _Insomnia Falls_ read the headline.

            Ignis scanned the rest of the article as the clerk rang up the stuff we were getting with shaking hands. Ignis paid distractedly and kept looking at the article as I took the bag of our things and gently tugged him out of the store. “Thank you!” I called to the clerk as we left. Once the door shut behind us, Ignis’ hand fell to his side, the paper flapping against his leg.

            “This can’t be true,” he said.

            “It is,” I muttered.

            Ignis yanked me around the corner of the convenience store and shoved me against the wall where there were no windows so no one inside could see us. “You knew this would happen!” he growled accusingly, entire forearm pressed against my chest just under my collarbones.

            “I did.”

            “Why didn’t you say anything?”

            “It’s part of the game’s plot.”

            “What else do you know that you’re not telling us?”

            “More than you can imagine,” I said. “But I can’t tell you because if I give away your future you might try to change it. And if the game’s plot _can_ be royally derailed, I might lose any chance I have of getting _home_.”

            Ignis glared at me, eyes flashing with his glasses catching the sunlight. “You’d get used to our world.”

            “Yeah but my world is where my _life_ is. My degree. My job. My friends. My _family_. I'm nobody here. You guys wouldn’t even miss me if the game purged me from its system this morning. But my parents are going to start wondering where I am and why I haven’t called. Amy and Bree are going to be worried sick—they saw me get pulled in. It doesn’t matter how much I like you guys: this isn’t my world. I don’t want to be trapped here forever.” I sighed and bowed my head, my chin resting on Ignis’ arm. “Look, I'm _sorry_.”

            “I don’t think you are.”

            That ticked me off.

            Lifting my head and glaring, I struck Ignis in the sternum with the heel of my palm, shoving him off. He stumbled a few steps away, startled by my move. I conjured my dagger and held it in front of me. “Don’t presume to know me after we met _yesterday_ , Scientia,” I snapped. “I _love_ this game. I was so emotionally invested in this game that I _cried_ when it was over. I _cried_ during your and Prompto’s DLC adventures. I cried so hard that Amy _laughed_ at how over-invested I was. I _care_ about you guys. It’s destroying my heart to keep what I know from you. But I _can’t_ tell you.”

            Ignis stared at me, coughing from getting hit in the chest. “I thought you said… you have no combat training.”

            “Technically that’s true. But I know a little self-defense. I didn’t even hit you in the right spot to really do damage. I just wanted you to get off of me and stop accusing me of not being sorry when I _am_.”

            Ignis coughed again and then regained his composure. “Alright. I… I apologize for lashing out. I'm… scared,” he said.

            “C’mon. We need to go tell the others,” I said.

            “Let’s put the supplies in the Regalia first.”

            “Sure thing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a while, y'all. Life got crazy. Thanks to those who are sticking around to read this!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying to make up for disappearing for so long by throwing a bunch of chapters up in somewhat quick succession. We'll see how it goes 'XD

Prompto yawned and stretched, standing near the window. “Heya. Mornin’,” he muttered.

            Noctis looked around the room. The sun was well and truly up, glistening off the waves and washing the resort town in heat and light. Prompto and Gladio were milled about the room behind him. “Where’s Specs and the girl?” Noctis asked.

            “Should be back any minute now,” Gladio said.

            Noctis wandered over to the window, peering out over Galdin. Gladio joined him at the windows, looking out at a different angle.

            The door handle clicked open. The three boys in the room all turned to see Ignis and Nova somberly sidle into the room. Ignis had a newspaper in one hand and was rubbing his chest with the other while Nova deliberately avoided everyone’s eyes. Ignis looked even more reserved than usual.

            “What’s that look for?” Noctis asked.

            Ignis took a step closer to Gladio—who held out a hand. Ignis handed the paper over. “It’s in all the papers,” he said.

            “What is?” Noctis pressed.

            Prompto went right to Gladio’s side. “‘Insomnia… Falls’…!” Prompto read.

            Noctis gasped. “Wha—!” He glared at Nova and Ignis. “This your idea of a joke?!”

            “I need you to calm down so I can explain,” Ignis said as Gladio read the paper.

*^*^*^*

I stared at Ignis’ shoes in surprise, not trusting myself to look any higher. Why was he taking the brunt of this for me? Heck, I’d struck him in the sternum. He had no reason to take this. Noctis’ ire should have been directed at _me_. Because _I_ was the one who knew the story to come.

            “I'm as calm as I'm going to get!” Noctis exclaimed, striding over and slamming to a stop in front of Ignis—who took a protective step in front of me that surprised me.

            “There was an attack,” Ignis said. “The imperial army has taken the Crown City.”

            “‘As treaty room tempers flared, blasts lit the night sky. When the smoke about the Citadel had cleared, the king was found… dead’,” Gladio read from the newspaper.

            Noctis went right into denial. “No—wait. Hold on,” he said falteringly.

            “We had no way of knowing,” Ignis said, moving away from me to draw Noctis’ attention from the fact that I _very well_ knew in advance what was happening.

            “What? Knowing _what_?!” Noctis demanded.

            “That the _signing_ was last night, that Insomnia—”

            “But the wedding! Altissia!”

            “I _know_ ,” Ignis began, sounding testy, “that _was_ the plan. Yet the reports of the invasion are all the same. How could every headline in the kingdom be wrong?”

            Noctis looked down. “… Lies,” he muttered.

            I shook my head, still looking down as Gladio kept reading, not knowing what to say.

            Prompto had moved to the window. “… If only,” he said softly.

            Noctis took a few steps closer to the window, and sat down in one of the chairs.

            Gladio sighed and let his hand holding the paper fall to his side. “What else do we know?”

            Ignis sighed and shook his head, refusing to meet Gladio’s eyes—or even mine. Even though he _knew_ I could shed some light on the subject. I wondered why he was protecting me from the other three. They were hurting but… they probably wouldn’t hurt me.

            “Well then we can’t be sure until we see it with our own eyes,” Gladio said.

            “And that means… we go back to Insomnia,” Prompto said.

            “Might not be safe for us there,” Ignis reasoned.

            “Might not be safe for us _here_ ,” Prompto retorted.

            Gladio turned his head to look at Noctis. “Turn back?”

            Noctis thought for a moment. “Yeah,” he said.

            The boys started to dismantle anything they set up in the room the night before, gathering dropped belongings and finding phone chargers. The crystal-clear morning had started to cloud over, a storm rolling in from the sea. I hadn’t gotten anything out, because I didn’t have anything, so I just waited.

            After a few moments, I gathered my courage.

            “It’s true,” I said.

            Everyone’s eyes snapped to me. Noctis froze in his process of searching for something under a bed. His entire body went rigid and he straightened up like someone had strapped a broom to his spine. He marched right over to me and shoved me against the brick wall next to the door, arm pressing to my throat rather than my chest.

            “Noct!” Ignis protested.

            “Whoa—buddy!” Prompto exclaimed.

            “You knew!” Noctis snapped.

            “I don’t remember the whole story,” I lied. “The game came out a little over two years ago at this point. I didn’t remember _when_ it was going to happen. I thought I had more time to brace and prepare.”

            Ignis stepped forward and removed Noctis’ arm from my throat. I coughed. “Noct,” Ignis said quietly. Noctis shoved him off and pressed his forearm to my chest instead. “Don’t lash out. Nova meant us no harm by not saying anything in advance. We still would be better off relying on seeing it for ourselves.”

            “We should leave her behind,” Noctis growled.

            I kept my mouth shut. He had a point. And much as I wanted to go home by beating the game, I didn’t want to jeopardize the story. I glanced at Ignis, who wasn’t looking at me. His focus was completely on Noctis.

            “We should. But we won’t. As you said, she’s one of us now. It would be more beneficial to bring her along.”

            Noctis shoved off of me with an angry grunt and stomped over to the beds to resume his search. “Fine. She can stay. But she gets in the way we’re dropping her at the nearest outpost.”

            “Very well,” Ignis said. He shot me a glance and nodded once.

I nodded back, mouthing, _Thank you_.

            When we all got everything in the Regalia, the storm broke, letting rain wash Eos. I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent, before climbing into the car. “I'm gonna drive,” Noctis said.

            “Are you sure that’s wise?” Ignis asked. “Clearly you’re distressed and the weather—”

            “I'm going to drive,” Noctis insisted.

            “Alright then,” Ignis relented, climbing into the backseat of the Regalia with me. He reached out as Noctis got in and started to drive off and set his hand on my knee. I glanced over at him, eyebrows scrunched in a question I didn’t dare ask out loud.

            Ignis sensed I wanted to talk but didn’t want to say anything out loud, so he withdrew a small leather-bound notebook from the inside pocket of his blazer, handing it to me. I took it and the pen he offered as rain pattered on the roof of the car and the engine vibrated the floor. Writing while the car was in motion was a little difficult, but I managed to make my handwriting legible.

            _Why are you protecting me?_

            I handed the notebook, open, back to Ignis. His eyes scanned it once and then again. The question wasn’t long, but I could see by the way a muscle was working in his jaw that he was figuring out the best way to answer. He held his hand out for the pen in my hand. I offered it to him. He pinched it between his bare thumb and covered finger and took it from me.

            He wrote slowly and deliberately, probably the same way I had. I watched as best I could, but I couldn’t read what he was writing since his hand was in the way.

            After several long, otherwise silent moments, he handed the book back to me.

            _Because you ARE one of us now. And my duty is to protect Noctis, but sometimes Noctis must be protected from himself as well. I believe it will be more beneficial to have you with us than leaving you behind._

His handwriting was elegant and only slightly bigger than mine. I got a lot of comments from people about how tiny my handwriting was, so seeing his also be relatively small sort of made me satisfied—like maybe my small penmanship was a good thing and not just a nuisance for older people who complained that they couldn’t read my writing.

I tugged the pen out of his hand.

            _Thank you. You really don’t have to._

_Yes I do. Whatever path we’re on now, I'm guessing it’s important. I think we’re going to need you._

            After I read it, he tugged the book from my hand, snapped it shut, and tucked it back into his pocket. He gave me a tiny grin.

            “What are you two doing?” Gladio asked.

            “Nothing,” I said.

            “Just going over what little intel we were able to gather this morning,” Ignis said, lying smoothly.

            I bumped his knee with mine. There he went, protecting me again. I wasn’t sure I deserved it.

            We drove for a while longer. It felt like a couple hours. In near dead silence. With the rain on the roof and the comforting, familiar thrum of the Regalia’s beautifully smooth engine, I felt myself drifting in and out of consciousness. I was going to have sleeping problems for a while, if I had a guess. I leaned my head on Ignis’ shoulder and passed time in half-consciousness.

            “I… hope everyone’s okay,” Prompto said at some point, jarring me back to the realm of reality.

            “Lotta good hoping’s gonna do,” Noctis grumbled.

            “You mustn’t lose faith,” Ignis said.

            “Really?” Noctis asked sarcastically. “Can faith stop a fleet of imperial dreadnoughts?”

            “Give it a rest,” Gladio said, going for soothing probably but coming off a little gruff and possibly irritated.

            “My old man had plenty of faith!” Noctis snapped.

            “Enough,” Gladio pressed.

            “The empire _lied._ They betrayed us,” Prompto said.

            “Conjecture gets us nowhere. We’re searching for truth,” Ignis put in, trying to deescalate the emotions running high in the car.

            “All you’ll find are lies—like that ceasefire,” Noctis muttered bitterly.

            I desperately wanted to comfort them all, but I had nothing to say that would make them feel any better. I could sense Noctis was still mad at me so I kept my mouth dutifully shut and let Ignis rest his hand reassuringly on my knee. I patted the top of his hand in gratitude.

            A shadow passed over the car, somehow darkening even the rainy day.

            Everyone peered out the windows, me leaning on Gladio’s side for a better view.

            Huge airships were passing overhead. “Look at the size of those things,” Gladio said, almost in awe.

            “Imperial dreadnoughts,” Ignis said. “They transport soldiers—namely the magitek infantry.”

            I glanced at Prompto to see if he reacted. He still didn’t know what the barcode tattooed onto his wrist meant. He looked vaguely interested, but other than that clearly didn’t know where he was from.

            “The robots?” Gladio asked.

            “Mass-produced humanoid weapons of warfare to be more precise,” Ignis corrected with a touch of condescension. I considered adding that MTs—magitek soldiers—had a biologic/organic component thus making the term “robot” inaccurate but decided to keep it to myself.  Ignis noticed the look on my face and gave me a raised brow of askance.

            “Doesn’t look like they’ll be signing that peace treaty,” Prompto said as Ignis handed me his notebook again.

            The car lapsed into silence, broken only by the constant thrum of the engine drowning out the scratching of Ignis’ pen on his notebook in my hand.

            _MTs have an organic component. They’re grown from clones. “Robot” isn’t an accurate term._ I handed the book back to Ignis. He gave me a curious look—that also held a level of approval.

            “Up ahead!” Prompto exclaimed.

            Noctis hit the brakes a little hard, sliding the Regalia a little behind a line of cars. I braced my hands against both front seats as the arrested momentum made me lean forward involuntarily. Peering between Noctis and Prompto, I could see several dozen yards down the road to where two huge mech suit things and plenty of MTs were waiting on the road in front of the gate that said _City of Insomnia_ over it.

            “Inspection point,” I muttered.

            “They’ve set up an inspection point,” Ignis said, louder, so the whole car could hear.

            “Probably looking for Noct,” I whispered to Ignis.

            “If the road ahead’s blocked, then we find a way around,” Gladio said, resolve oozing from his tone.

            Noctis threw the car in reverse, backed up, yanked the gear shift again, and pulled off the road onto a dirt track that ran next to Insomnia’s giant wall that _wasn’t_ made of magic. We followed the dirt track until we reached part of the wall that had some stairs that would lead us to the top to look at the city.

            “Let’s make a detour,” Ignis said. “There ought to be a decent vantage point up ahead.”

            The car doors opened. I followed Ignis out of the backseat of the car and took a deep breath. The land smelled like rain—which was still gently falling.

            I followed as Noctis led us to the stairs.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter. If I made a typo or left out a word in a sentence (sometimes that happens when I type too fast), please let me know! Along with any questions or comments you may have!

The five of us were heading for the top of the wall when we spotted some MTs in the distance.

            Gladio smirked dangerously. “There they are. Wanna take ‘em out?” he asked, a malicious excitement in his tone.

            Noctis took on the same sense of eagerness. “Oh yeah. Those scrapheaps are gonna _wish_ they had a treaty to protect them,” he said. Before any of us could do or say anything more, he warped right into a fight. Gladio ran in after him. Prompto and Ignis followed. I stayed behind, hiding behind some stacked crates, dagger in hand and watching carefully. I was _not_ ready for a fight like this.

            After I realized that, despite the realism of what I saw, the fight still functioned like a video game fight, I approached carefully. Bullets didn’t tear into flesh—the boys stumbled when they got hit but didn’t bleed.

            So I ran in and used one of the moves Ignis taught me to take one of the MTs out.

            “Nova what are you doing?” Ignis demanded. “You’re not ready!”

            “Trust me!” I shouted. Something struck me in the gut, filling my abdomen with searing pain. The bullet seemed to just vanish. It hurt like crap but there were no wounds.

            “Cool,” I muttered.

            If I remembered right, Prompto probably had about 350HP at this point in the game. Maybe a little less—Amy was probably just over-leveled. Even if I was on the same level as the boys, I probably had less. Prompto was the weakest but I was weaker than him.

            I glanced down at the hologram on the underside of my arm.

            My HP meter was at 246 and climbing from the hit. I smirked and went back into the fight, dodging as best I could. I followed Noctis up a set of stairs, where a few more MTs were firing at us.

            “Noct look out!” I shouted, grabbing him by the collar and shoving him out of the way as I stepped into an MT’s firing line. A bullet hit me right in the chest and disappeared. I grabbed at where my sternum screamed in pain and looked at my arm.

            _178HP_.

            “Yikes. That was a bad hit,” I muttered.

            “Nova!” Ignis shouted, running over to me once Gladio slashed the last MT clean in half. “Are you alright?”

            Noctis picked himself back to his feet and stared at me in alarm. “You took a shot for me,” he said.

            I shrugged. “I hate Game Over screens. Starting over from the last save point is obnoxious and I like to feel like I’ve made progress.”

            Ignis pressed a potion into my hand. “Here. Drink this. It’ll help you regain your strength.”

            Panting, I let my dagger disappear and drank the energy drink. My skin flared with blue light and then faded. I looked back down at my arm. 310HP and holding still. I’d reached my max.

            “That brings a question to light,” Ignis said. “What happens if you die here?”

            “Then I probably just… die,” I said. “Maybe the game will purge my body, maybe it won’t.”

            “Whoa. Then let’s try to keep you alive,” Prompto said.

            “You guys too. We can’t beat the game without each other,” I said.

            Noctis put his hand on my shoulder and opened his mouth to say something. “Tha… thank you.”

            “Sure thing,” I replied.

            “I'm sorry I hurt you earlier.”

            “Thanks. I get it. You’re angry and scared and grieving. Just… try not to do it again.”

            “Yeah. I’ll try.”

            We made our way along the wall till we found a natural area—as in, not man-made. Not part of the wall.

            “We should seek a vantage point—the hill,” Ignis said.

            We ran and found ourselves overlooking a large bridge leading to the rest of Insomnia. I wasn’t entirely sure where we were, exactly. More wall curved away from us toward the bridge. Prompto dug out his phone and found the news reports. “As to ceasefire discussions between the two nations, all provisional terms have been suspended in light of recent developments. Moreover, in wake of the news of King Regis’ death, we’ve now received word that Crown Prince Noctis and the Oracle Lunafreya have also been pronounced dead.”

            Prompto moved to put his phone away.

            “Keep it on,” Gladio said, startling Prompto into dropping his phone.

            “Don’t bother!” Noctis shouted. Prompto bent down and scooped up his phone. Noctis and Gladio got theirs out as well. Noctis turned to me. “Is Luna really dead?”

            I shook my head.

            “Thank the Six,” Noctis whispered.

            He and Gladio set their phones to their ears as more dreadnoughts passed overhead, heading for the city.

            “Hello? Cor?” Noctis asked.

            “So, you made it,” I could hear Cor’s voice reply.

            “What’s going on?”

            “Where are you?”

            “Outside the city—with no way back in.”

            “Makes sense.”

            “‘Makes sense’ are you serious? What about _any_ of this makes sense?!” Noctis demanded. “The news just told me I'm dead—along with my father and Luna!” His voice broke on the word “father.”

            “Listen,” Cor said, “I'm heading out to Hammerhead.”

            Noctis made an exasperated noise.

            “About the king,” Cor continued. “It’s true.”

            Noctis gasped, like he’d been hoping I was lying.

            “If you’re looking for the whole truth, you know where to find me. Get moving.”

            Noctis was silent for an agonizingly long moment, his deep blue eyes meeting my gaze. “Right,” he said, hanging up.

            Ignis approached Noctis. “What did the marshal… have to say?” he asked gently.

            “Said he’d… be in Hammerhead.”

            Gladio took a few steps closer too. “And the king?”

            Noctis looked about two seconds from breaking down, letting Gladio know what the answer was without words. Gladio sighed, turning to look at me. Ignis and Prompto turned to me as well. I nodded. They hung their heads.

            Ignoring the confused looks I garnered from the other three, I went right over to Noctis and wrapped my arms around him. His arms snared me in a vice and he trembled in my hold. He buried his face in the shoulder of my jacket, letting his tears mix with the rain already soaking my shoulders. “I know, Noct. I know,” I said quietly. “I know how hard it is to lose the people you love.”

            Sometimes a person just needed a hug.

            I didn’t want to play the role of the Mom Friend™ because that was Ignis’ job, but guys didn’t tend to hug each other genuinely very often—at least not in my experience. Then again America had some rather backwards ideas in the culture regarding physical affection. So giving Noctis a hug wasn’t motherly to me so much as it was just caring.

            Ignis rested a hand on my other shoulder. “We should head to the Regalia. The daylight won’t last with this cloud cover and if we don’t make it to Hammerhead before nightfall, we’ll have to find a place to camp for the night.”

            Noctis straightened up and wiped his nose on his gauntlet. “Right. Let’s go,” he said, putting on a brave face.

            Gladio and Prompto led our group back down the hill and the wall, heading for where we left the car. Ignis, Noctis, and I stayed at the back of the group. I kept my arm around Noctis’ shoulders as much as I could.

            Noctis stopped in his tracks before he and I could get in the back of the Regalia. “Nova, wait,” he said. I halted and looked at him with eyebrows raised. “I'm sorry. Really. I am. I misjudged you.” He held a hand out for me. “Let me try again? Gimme another chance to be your friend?”

            I smiled and shook his hand, the damp leather of our gauntlets rubbing together oddly. “Of course. Apology accepted. And I understand that you were feeling a lot and not sure how to process it.”

            “Let’s go!” Gladio called.

            “Thanks,” Noctis said to me with a small grin.

            I smiled back. “Of course.” I ducked into the car. Noctis followed me. I let him lay his head in my lap and rubbed up and down his arm comfortingly. “The pain never goes away completely, but we learn how to live around it,” I said quietly.


	11. Chapter 11

“Who’d you lose?” Gladio asked as Ignis drove us to Hammerhead. Noctis had fallen asleep in my lap. It was still raining.

            “Pardon?” I asked.

            “You said you knew what it felt like to lose people you love. Who’d you lose?”

            “So far all of my grandparents except one,” I said. “One of them two months ago. The pain’s still a bit fresh there.”

            “Mm. Sorry.”

            I tapped Gladio’s knee to get his attention. He looked away from the rain-streaked window to face me, confused.

            “Iris is okay,” I said quietly. “She made it out. But… Clarus…”

            “It’s okay, kid,” Gladio said. “We’re Amicitia. I always guessed he’d go out protecting the king. But… do you know… did he go out with a fight?”

            “Oh yeah,” I said. “He went out with a fight. Good one too.”

            “Then that’s all I need to hear. And as long as Iris is okay… I think I’m gonna be okay.”

            I nodded. “Mkay,” I muttered.

            “Thanks for telling me, Nova.”

            “Welcome.”

            Prompto looked up from his phone and pulled an earbud out. “It’s gettin’ dark,” he said. “We gonna make it to Hammerhead before the daemons come out?”

            Ignis peered out the windows toward the west, where the sun was presumably going down behind the clouds covering the entire sky. “We ought to.”

            “Think we should stop?” Gladio asked.

            “No… it seems silly to try and pitch the tent in the rain. If we increase our speed a touch we should make it to Hammerhead before nightfall,” Ignis said. The car’s engine gave a slightly louder roar and the landscape outside flashed by faster.

            “Wow. Iggy going over the speed limit. I'm shocked,” Prompto said sarcastically.

            “Best to get where we’re going quickly,” Ignis said dismissively. “For once, we are in a bit of an actual rush. A race against the sunset.”

            “Shame that it’s raining though,” I remarked. “I actually wouldn’t have minded a night camping. I'm really excited to see this world’s constellations.”

            “Well, well. We have another space nerd in the car,” Gladio mused with amusement.

            “‘Another’?” I quoted.

            “Indeed. In my youth I enjoyed studying the stars,” Ignis said.

            “‘In your youth’,” I said with a snort. “Iggy, you and I are twenty-two. We’re the same age. I dunno about you but I still feel pretty youthful.”

            “Perhaps. But legally we’re considered adults. I meant when I was a child.”

            “No offense, Ignis, but once a space nerd, always a space nerd,” I said, snickering.

            We were quiet for a few minutes as it got a little darker outside.

            “Don’t suppose the Crownsguard is still active,” Gladio remarked.

            “Wouldn’t count on it. Not with the marshal out here,” Ignis said.

            “I wonder how things are in the city,” Prompto muttered.

            “There should be reports before long,” Ignis said.

            “Yeah,” Gladio agreed, “something this big can’t go ignored.”

            “And what about us? What do we do?” Prompto asked.

            “We make for Hammerhead now, and figure the rest out later,” Gladio said, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. “I suspect we’ll have help.”

            I shrugged. “Maybe. Don’t remember this part very well.” That much was the truth. I remembered big important plot points easily, but this little section wasn’t coming to mind.

            Another long silence followed my statement, and I got the feeling that the boys felt a bit ominous that I couldn’t remember.

            Gladio’s phone buzzed. He pulled it out of his pocket and peered at his screen. The bluish light cast a strange hue to his whiskey-colored eyes. “Got a message from my sister; she’s with refugees bound for Lestallum,” he said. He glanced at me. “Looks like you were right,” he added quietly. I gave him a nod.

            “Well, at least Iris is okay,” Prompto said.

            “Yeah… doesn’t sound like everyone else was so lucky though,” Gladio muttered.

            Ignis shot quick looks at Prompto and Gladio. “We’d best make haste. Noct won’t be dead forever.”

            “No going back—only way’s forward,” Prompto mused.

            Noctis sighed from where he was lying on my lap and sat up as Ignis turned into Hammerhead. I’d had no idea he’d even woken up—or when he’d woken up. I started to wonder if he’d ever actually fallen asleep on me. “‘No going back’,” he quoted quietly, more to himself than us. “Let’s go.” Resolve sprouted in his tone.

            Ignis pulled up to the gas pumps. Once the car was stopped, we all piled out. Cindy came out to greet us. Gladio lifted a hand in greeting. “Hey.”

            “Glad y’all made it,” she replied, sounding somber—a stark contrast to her usual chipper tone. “This must be Nova.” I nodded. “Pleasure. Sorry we didn’t meet under better circumstances. I only caught a glimpse of ya when they brought ya back here unconscious.”

            “Yeah me too. Thanks,” I said.

            Prompto made awkward, “I-don’t-know-how-to-talk-to-girls” noises.

            “No weather for drivin’, that’s for sure,” Cindy said, ignoring Prompto. I nodded enthusiastically. I’d never liked driving in the rain.

            “Our thanks,” Ignis said.

            “Where’s Cor?” Noctis jutted in, cutting right past the pleasantries.

            Cindy shuffled on her feet a little. “Left to see to business, and left y’all a message with Paw-paw.”

            “Yeah?” Noctis asked wearily.

            “Boss ain’t sat still one second since he heard y’all were comin’,” Cindy remarked.

            “Perhaps it would be better to continue this conversation inside,” Ignis suggested. “It’s getting dark out and this inclement weather won’t keep the daemons away.”

            “Sure thing. C’mon in,” Cindy said, leading us inside the garage. Prompto took the lead, barely half-a-step behind her, with Gladio and Noct in the middle and me and Ignis at the back. Ignis set his hand on my elbow, where my skin had a few inches of bare between my jacket sleeve and gauntlet.

            “You alright?” he asked. “You took a few nasty hits today.”

            I glanced at my MP and HP meters. They’d been stable and full since he gave me the potion. “Yeah. I'm fine,” I said. “Thanks.”

            “You’re still learning. It would be best for you to not run in so recklessly.”

            I shrugged. “Still functions like a video game. Mostly,” I said. “My HP took a hit and it hurt like crap but the bullets didn’t rip me apart. Just vanished. That I can handle.”

            “Still. Should we come up against more MTs in the future—or any other type of foe—I should prefer it if you were careful until you’ve completed enough training to truly defend and attack.”

            “I’ll try, Ignis. But no promises.” With that, I lightly brushed past him into the garage.

            Cid was sitting in the garage on his own till the six of us including his granddaughter milled around. I stuck to the back of the group, standing slightly behind Ignis but not enough that I wouldn’t be able to see what was happening. “Crystal and the king’s ring—what they been after all along…” Cid said, looking at his knees.

            “So all talk of peace was merely a pretext,” Ignis stated, somber, leaving no room for ambiguity.

            The boys bowed their heads, Gladio folding his arms over his chest, closing himself off. Ignis pinched the bridge of his nose and slid his glasses up into place better.

            Noctis shook his head. “They played my father for a fool,” he sighed, too exhausted to get riled up.

            “Don’t kid yourself,” Cid chided. I turned my attention back to him. He picked up a wrench from a nearby table—probably looking to hold onto something familiar and comforting. “Reggie wasn’t born yesterday.” Cid leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “Lucis got dealt a losin’ hand, and your old man played it the best he could. He saw this comin’ a mile away, and he wasn’t gonna go down without a fight.”

            Noctis looked up to meet Cid’s gaze with a quiet noise of surprise that wasn’t quite a gasp.

            “In the end, though… Well, it just wasn’t enough,” Cid finished. He sighed and looked at the floor.

            Several long moments passed in silence during which I could have drowned in the sorrow filling the garage.

            “You need somethin’ else, you talk to Cor,” Cid said, setting the wrench back on the table and standing up. A sad look crossed his face. “I can’t even remember the last time I saw Reggie. Feels like a lifetime ago.” One hand finding a sore spot on his back, Cid stepped between Noctis and Ignis, past me, and left the five of us in the garage alone.

            Noctis glanced at a framed photo on the table of Regis, Clarus, Cor, and Cid when they were younger—about the same age as the boys around me. I recognized it vaguely.

            “Come,” Ignis said. “We should all get some rest. It’s getting dark.” He turned and gestured for us to leave the garage—which smelled like gasoline and grease. The other boys filed out of the garage first. I grabbed Ignis’ elbow before he could follow them.

            “I'm gonna crash in the Regalia,” I said. “I think it’d be… better.”

            “You believe Noct might still harbor some anger toward you despite his apologies,” Ignis said.

            “No… I just think it’d be less cramped if I wasn’t there.”

            “Very well. Allow me to get out a sleeping bag for you.”

            “Thanks,” I said.

            Ignis led me back to the car and fished around in the remarkably roomy trunk before extracting a rolled-up sleeping bag and passing it to me. “Shall I leave the keys with you?”

            “No. I’ll be fine. I’ll lock the doors.”

            “It may get cold. You may wish to turn on the heater.” Ignis shut the trunk.

            “Oh honey,” I said sarcastically, leaning against the side of the Regalia. “I’ve gone camping plenty of times before. Sleeping bags are plenty enough to keep me warm. Plus I prefer sleeping in the cold. It reminds me of home. Mom always kept the house cold at night.”

            “Very well. In that case, goodnight, Nova.” He rested his hand on my shoulder and gave me a long look—like he was searching for any trace of me lying.

            I lifted my hand and wrapped my fingers around his forearm. “Goodnight, Ignis,” I said.

            He ducked his head in a respectful nod and went over to the caravan where Noctis, Prompto, and Gladio were already settling in for the night. As Ignis mounted the steps, he glanced back at me, leaned against the side of the car. I waved at him, showing he was fine to leave me alone for the night. He raised a hand in return and pushed the door open, going inside. Through the window I saw Prompto look around—and Ignis nod toward the car. I couldn’t hear them, but I could guess what they were saying. Prompto was asking where I was and Ignis was answering.

            I opened the car door and spread out the sleeping bag on the back bench before crawling in, shutting the door, and leaning forward into the front seat to press the lock button on the driver’s side door. Sliding out of my jacket, boots, gauntlets, and skinny jeans, I climbed into the sleeping bag and bedded down.

            _Boo-da-ling!_ My left arm tingled.

            I glanced at the underside. Even without my gauntlet on, the meters were still there. An EXP wheel filled up a little from the fighting today, getting me closer to a new level.

            “Wow,” I said aloud.

            Rain pattered outside, but the car was parked under an overhang, so nothing dripped onto the Regalia’s roof.

            It took me all of three seconds to realize I was going to have a hard time sleeping.

            So I fished out my phone and plugged in a familiar number.

            _“We’re sorry—the number you have entered is either not in service or does not exist. Please hang up and try again,_ ” a robotic recording said. The line beeped as though it were a voicemail.

            “Hey Amy,” I said into the silence. “Listen, I miss you guys. I didn’t really think calling your number from inside a video game would work, but there’s so much I want to tell you. I'm okay. I'm alive. I have no idea how I got here—but I suspect that void in the sky had something to do with it. I wish this would work so I could tell you to tell my parents that I'm okay. Can’t even imagine what you must be thinking right now. I mean, I’ve been gone for like three days now. My boss is gonna be so mad and my mom’s gonna be terrified.

            “Unless this is like a Narnia thing where time freezes back home till I get back. Man—I hope so. That’d sure be a lot easier on me.

            “I'm scared, Amy. I'm not supposed to be here,” I continued, feeling tears prick at my eyes. “I don’t know what to do. I think I'm supposed to beat the game to get home. Which sucks because this is one of the saddest games we’ve ever played and I just have to sit back and _watch_ as the plot happens and pray that I don’t derail it and screw up whatever chance I have of getting home. I wish—”

            The line went dead and beeped a couple times, signaling the call cut off.

            I sighed, and tried something else. Maybe a call couldn’t get through, but something else could.

            Amy’s was one of the few numbers I had memorized at this point. I had my family’s numbers memorized, but not most of my friends’. So I tried texting her.

            _Amy, this is Nova! I'm alive!_

            I hit “Send” with a shaking finger.

            The phone that wasn’t mine but also was didn’t react for a moment.

            _Message Send Failure_

            I rolled my eyes. Shouldn’t have expected that to work anyway.

            Maybe the internet would work if a cell signal didn’t. So I tried emailing Bree. I couldn’t remember which one of Amy’s six email addresses she actually checked, but I knew which one Bree kept track of.

            _Bree, it’s Nova. I'm alive!_

            _Message Failed to Send_

            “Darn it,” I muttered under my breath, throwing the phone down on the floor of the Regalia on top of my discarded jeans. I wadded up my jacket and shoved it under my head as a pillow. It was still damp from the rain but better than falling asleep on my arm and waking up with no feeling in it.

            I tossed and turned a lot on the backseat bench of the car, but eventually fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Questions? Comments? Advice from Bahamut? XD Let me know if I made a typo or left out a word!


	12. Chapter 12

“No use hangin’ around here,” Gladio said as we jogged up some stairs toward a low, rounded building of some sort.

            A royal tomb. Hidden in the hills by large cliffs with a single path cutting through the land—huge old stone gates standing not far away—though a gate that had once been between the rather imposing support on either side had long-since withered away. If there had ever been anything there.

            “Indeed,” Ignis agreed as the five of us jogged across the paved ground toward some steps leading down to a closed door. “We’re here.”

            “A tomb fit for royalty,” Prompto observed with a hint of humor.

            “Let’s go in and find the marshal,” Gladio said.

            “How rude that he didn’t meet us out here,” I said with a snort, rubbing the ache on the back of my neck from sleeping in the car. The new morning had blossomed into another beautiful summer day. Warm weather, clear skies, the damp pavement of the day before dried off completely. I was almost loath to go inside the tomb—where the sun _wouldn’t be_.

            Noctis pushed the door open and headed inside. Gladio and Prompto ducked in after him. Ignis caught my elbow before we could cross. “Are you alright, Nova? You’ve been favoring your neck.”

            “I'm fine. Just slept on it wrong,” I said. “C’mon. Best not to fall behind. Dunno about you but I don’t wanna get lost in a creepy old tomb.”

            “Don’t think there’s much to get lost in—not in this particular tomb,” Ignis said, tugging me by my elbow across the threshold.

            Once my eyes adjusted to the darkness, the tomb was just _there_. No winding passageways or anything. It was an open, rounded room with a statue on the back wall and another one lying on a raised pedestal with a weapon held in folded hands. The detail was intricate, and it was actually rather beautiful. Nothing appeared terribly decayed.

            “Marshal,” Ignis greeted.

            Cor turned and scanned the five of us with his eyes from where he’d been looking at a wall. “At last, Your Highness.”

            “It was not safe to travel in the dark last night,” Ignis said. “Forgive our delay.”

            Noctis and Cor both acknowledged him with a nod but didn’t reply. “Yeah, wanna tell me what I'm here for?” Noctis asked.

            Cor held his hand out over the statue on the pedestal. “The power of kings, passed from the old to the new through the bonding of souls,” Cor said.

            I’d totally forgot about the “bonding of souls” part and stared in surprise. “That sounds kinda ominous,” I muttered in Ignis’ general direction. He hummed in thought and let go of my elbow.

            “One such soul lies before you. To claim your forebears’ power is your birthright and duty as king,” Cor continued, apparently not hearing me or Ignis. He spread his hands, presenting the statue to Noctis.

            “My duty as king of what?” Noctis asked, sounding dejected. Gladio and Ignis turned toward Noctis with concern painted in their postures and on their expressions.

            Cor didn’t seem to be in the mood for coddling. “Now is not the time to question your calling,” he said, a bit snappish. Noctis scoffed. “A king is sworn to protect his people.”

            “And yet he chose to protect only one prince,” Noctis retorted, not raising his voice but still angry. He was referring to his father, not himself. “Was that his calling? Forsake the masses to spare his own son?” Interesting. They built up Noctis’ character as being kinda irresponsible and lazy, but those questions showed he actually had a deeper understanding of the duties of his family than the developers initially showed.

            His words rubbed Cor the wrong way. He got frustrated. “How long will you remain the protected? The king entrusted the role of protector to _you_ ,” Cor growled out.

            “‘Entrusted’ it to me?” Noctis demanded incredulously. “Then why didn’t he tell _me_ that?! Why did he stand there _smiling_ as I left?! Why—” Noctis grabbed the edge of the pedestal. He looked ready to have another breakdown. I wondered if I should step forward and give him another hug. Ignis held a hand out to stop me. Noctis bowed his head. His voice lowered. “Why did he lie to me?”

            Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio all turned their gazes to the floor.

            “That day, he didn’t want you to remember him as the king,” Cor said. “In what time you had left, he wanted to be your _father_.”

            Noctis shuddered, both hands on the side of the pedestal now, with barely-contained sobs escaping his mouth. I closed my eyes and set my hand comfortingly on Ignis’ arm, not even sure why I was doing it. Just felt right in the moment.

            “He always had faith in you that when the time came, you would ascend for the sake of your people,” Cor continued.

            Noctis straightened up, letting go of the pedestal. “Guess he left me no choice,” he said. He stared at the statue of his ancestor, resolve building in his posture. He reached out, holding a hand over the weapon. It glowed and lifted straight through the folded hands, shining bright enough that everyone averted their gaze. It raised high up into the air, point angling toward the ground—it appeared to be some sort of sword—and then shot down, striking Noctis in the chest and disappearing. Noctis took a silent step back when it hit him.

            A ghostly after-image of it spun around him as his chest glowed. The image of the weapon and the light in Noctis’ heart faded as Noctis set his hand to his chest, looking a bit startled.

            “The power of kings goes with you, Your Majesty,” Cor said.

            Majesty. Not Highness. I vaguely remembered that, at the very least when it came to English royalty, the king and queen were Majesty, and prince and princess were Highness. You did _not_ mix those up unless you wanted to seal your doom by slighting a member of the royal family. Cor was basically saying that now that Noctis had taken the weapon, he was the king of Lucis.

            Which I guess made sense. He was taking up his father’s role as protector and king.

            Cool. Hadn’t noticed that the first time through the game with Amy.

            Maybe being _in_ the game helped me pay attention better.

            “That’s not the only power your forebears left you. Your journey’s just begun,” Cor remarked. His eyes swept the five of us. “Another tomb lies close by. I suggest you head there next. There are tombs scattered across the land. All are on dangerous ground.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “I’ll go with you, for the time being. Not only to help, but to get a measure of your strength.”

            I had the feeling he was meaning my strength as well as Noctis’. And maybe Prompto’s. I vaguely recalled some piece of trivia that Cor had trained Prompto to be a member of the Crownsguard. Unless that was just fanon.

            As he moved to leave the tomb, Cor’s eyes lighted on where my hand was on Ignis’ arm. “Oh. Congratulations, Ignis,” he said.

            “Oh for cryin’ out—that’s it,” I grumbled. “I am not wearing this ring on this hand anymore.” I yanked my ring off my ring finger on my right hand and moved to put it on my left-hand forefinger—the only other one it fit. Even though I’d worn the ring for so long that it had molded to the shape of my right-hand ring finger. Ignis caught my hand before I could.

            “Just leave it,” he said quietly. He looked at Cor. “We’re not engaged. She’s not from around here, no matter how much her accent sounds like she is. She’s from a place where the engagement ring is worn on the left hand.”

            “Ah. My apologies,” Cor said.

            “It’s fine,” I grumbled as I shoved my ring back on my finger. “Not like this isn’t the second time it’s happened or anything.”

            “It’s happened before?” Prompto asked, looking confused but delighted—like this was the funniest thing to happen in the past week. Which, considering the circumstances, it probably was.

            “In Galdin yesterday morning,” I said. “Shop clerk congratulated us.”

            “Awww,” Prompto said. “I think you two would make a cute couple!” I rolled my eyes.

            “Thanks Prompto,” I said, making no secret of my sarcasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ... Prompto ships it
> 
> (Let me know about typos or missing words. Y'all know the drill XD)


	13. Chapter 13

“So just how many of these ‘powers’ are out there?” Noctis asked, following Cor out of the tomb and back up the stairs. Everyone else trailed after with Ignis and I at the back again.

         “There are thirteen known royal arms, each enshrined at a royal tomb, though we know the location of only a few,” Cor explained. “I’ve enlisted the help of the Hunters. They comb the land in search of the lost tombs.”

         “Hmm. Where’s the one nearby that you mentioned?” Noctis carried on as I peered down the path we’d come up distastefully. I was beginning to sympathize with Prompto—I really didn’t want to hike.

         “Keycatrich Trench. We know there to be a crypt deep inside the tunnels,” Cor answered.

         “Pleasant,” I muttered to Ignis while Cor pointed out the location and path to the Trench from where we were to Noctis on his map off to the side. Ignis looked down at me with a raised brow.

         “Scared, Nova?” he asked. I wondered if there was a hint of playfulness in his tone or if I was imagining it.

         I shrugged. “I'm not like you guys,” I said. “I wasn’t trained for stuff like this. I wasn’t trained at _all_. So yeah, I'm a little scared.”

         Ignis rested his hand on my arm. “Just stay in the middle of the pack and less harm should befoul you.”

         I snickered at his word choice. “Only you could get away with saying words like ‘befoul’ and not sound like a pretentious jerk,” I said.

         “Part of my charm,” Ignis dismissed.

         “Okay,” Noctis said, putting his map back in his pocket. “Let’s head down, guys.”

         We got down the stairs and were just at the fancy gate a few yards down the path from the tomb when something moved ahead. “Sabertusk, twelve-o’clock!” Prompto shouted, gun appearing in his hand.

         “I'm going all out!” Noctis shouted as a broadsword appeared in his hand. He whirled a devastating slam onto the creature’s side.

         “Just don’t get too carried away,” Gladio chided as he conjured his own greatsword with a puff of light. Ignis pushed me behind him as his twin daggers manifested in either hand. Cor’s blade—a long katana-like sword—also popped into existence. I clenched my jaw and summoned my dagger.

         Another sabertusk appeared down the path.

         “You’re one to talk,” Noctis retorted, a hint of humor in his irritated tone.

         Several more sabertusks came up the path.

         “Brilliant,” Ignis muttered. “Nova, stay here.” He rushed forward and into the fray.

         “No big deal,” Noctis remarked.

         I heard Prompto and Gladio trash-talking the animals as if they could understand us. “Here I am!” and “Too slow!” echoed between the large gate structures while the five men took out about five sabertusks.

         One of them managed to sneak under Gladio’s sword and bolted right for me. I yelped in surprise and lifted my dagger—

         Only to see a streak of blue light and a sword sticking out of the sabertusk’s neck. It fell, dead, to the ground. Noctis was standing triumphantly over it. He held a hand out to shake mine. “Now we’re even,” he said.

         I shook his hand. “Thanks… but you’re stealing my opportunities for experience,” I said.

         “No, this was beyond you, Nova,” he said.

         “And will continue to be if you don’t let me learn how to defend myself.”

         “Well if you insist, Prompto’s still shooting that one,” he gestured to another sabertusk that Prompto was fending off with his handgun—though admittedly the peashooter wasn’t doing much.

         I trotted down the hill, spun the dagger into a reverse grip the way Ignis showed me, and plunged it between the shoulder blades of the beast.

         I almost _vomited_ at the sound it made—squishy and wet. I shuddered as the creature gave a whine and dropped dead. Prompto shot it again for good measure—to make sure it was dead.

         Ignis came over to me. “Are you alright?” he asked.

         “Fine and dandy. Didn’t even take a hit, surprisingly.” I peeked at my HP meter. It was full and stable. “Remind me why we needed to kill innocent animals, though?”

         Ignis shrugged. “They’re attackers. They would have killed us. Likely followed us to the Regalia and torn it to shreds.”

         “Okay. Just seems like… I dunno, animal cruelty I guess,” I muttered.

         “Mostly self-defense, Nova,” Ignis said.

         “That wasn’t a bad effort, Prompto,” Cor said as we headed down the hill.

         “Whoa! I just got praised… by the Immortal!” Prompto exclaimed.

         “Dork,” I muttered under my breath.

         “Don’t take that as leave to slack off. You’re only as good as your last battle,” Cor remarked as we continued the hike down.

         “Uh—yes sir! I’ll keep at it, sir,” Prompto said.

         I stayed on the side of Ignis closest to the wall of the trail, with Noctis on the other side. So when Noctis accidentally manifested a sword and whacked Ignis in the gut with the flat of the blade, I was unharmed. “Eyes forward!” Ignis exclaimed.

         “Didn’t—mean to do that!” Noctis said apologetically.

         As we reached the bottom of the hill, we came upon the ruins of what appeared to be a fort—big concrete structure made for strength, crumbling away. There was a low fence on the side of the trail between us and the fort, but it didn’t go far. Ahead, it gave way to littered stacks of cinderblocks and what appeared to be steel scaffolding of some sort.

         Though, I was no architect so I definitely couldn’t say for certain.

         “What’s up with this place?” I asked. I’d forgotten about it.

         “Long ago, we waged a fierce battle here against the empire,” Cor explained. “It all went to ruin. And after that, the empire moved in like it owned the place.” We wove through the boulders and underbrush and left-behind stacks of cinderblocks towards the entrance, Cor leading the way with Noctis close behind.

         There were also the rusted remains of some mech suit.

         “What is that?!” I asked.

         “A magitek armor,” Ignis explained.

         “Dangerous?” Noctis asked.

         Ignis examined it curiously. “This particular model poses a mild to moderate threat.”

         “The short version?” Noctis pressed.

         “Somewhat dangerous,” Ignis amended.

         “Marshal, you’d have to be pretty boss to take that down, right?” Noctis joked.

         “Think you’re up to it? Let’s see what you can do,” Cor retorted.

         Noctis, Ignis, and Gladio chuckled while we climbed around on the ruins looking for the entrance. I _wished_ the markers were still there to guide me. If I could see my HP and MP meters, why couldn’t I see those? Wasn’t fair.

         I made my way up the side of the fort, peering around. It was slightly sloped and had tiers and ledges—probably for guards back in the day. I knew the entrance was hidden, but I couldn’t remember if it was higher up the fort, or lower down. Why hadn’t I paid better attention when Amy ran through this game?

         “Whoa—whoa!” I shrieked as I slipped on some loose rubble and fell off the ledge I’d been balancing on.

         “Mind yourself!” Ignis called, catching me.

         I fell into his arms with an, “Oof!”

         “Are you alright?” he asked.

         My face turned the wonderful bright red of a ripe tomato. “Fine,” I muttered, climbing out of his arms. “Thanks for catching me.”

         “It’s no problem. I suspected you’d take a tumble—which was why I positioned myself beneath you.”

         I went even redder if that was possible and started fidgeting and picking at my fingernails. “Thanks,” I muttered.

         “Hey guys!” Noctis shouted. “I found it!”

*^*^*^*

Prompto leaned over to Gladio as Ignis helped Nova clamber down the ledges they’d climbed, holding her hand above their heads to keep her steady. “I ship it,” Prompto said quietly. His camera was in his hands and he was shamelessly taking pictures—far enough away that the shutter wouldn’t be heard by either of them.

         Gladio chuckled. “It’s growing on me,” he agreed as Cor made his way past them toward Noctis. Gladio jerked his head toward the marshal. “Let’s get goin’. Don’t want to get left behind out here.”

         “Or… or do we,” Prompto muttered. He glanced back over at where Ignis and Nova were still making their way down. Ignis put his hands on her hips to help her make the last drop without destroying her knees. Prompto snickered to himself and snapped another couple quick shots of Ignis helping her down. “Oh I _so_ ship it.”

         _Click!_


	14. Chapter 14

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I remembered where we were. The creepy tunnels that freaked Prompto out because they were supposed to be abandoned—but what if they _weren’t_.

         To be fair, it was freaking me out too. The tunnels were man-made, and sometimes that was creepier than natural tunnels. Abandonment was almost more frightening than the unknown. Bricks helped hold the mountain that the fort was built into from collapsing the tunnel. Growing up in a mountainous region, I’d seen _plenty_ of retaining walls in my life to know the function.

         “We need to find the generator,” I muttered, though I was fairly certain Ignis didn’t hear me, despite being nearest to me.

         “Here’s where we go our separate ways,” Cor said as we crossed the entrance and barely made it a few yards into the tunnel. So much for sticking around for the time being to get a measure of our strengths. “Take this key. It unlocks the doors to the other tombs.”

         I knew it was a video game where stuff like that just made the game easier, but what kind of security system had _every single royal tomb_ use the same lock? Didn’t that seem… too easy? I mean, yeah no one could use the weapons in the tombs besides Noctis’ family line but grave-robbing was a thing, right?

         Cor wasn’t done. “Seek them out and lay claim to the power they hold. You’ll need it.”

         That was ominous and I knew where the story was going.

         “And… what will you do?” Noctis asked.

         “Keep an eye on the Niffs. Find out what they’re up to.” Cor turned to leave, then twisted back. “But _you_ should focus on your own task.”

         The way he spoke slammed my memories back to days and weeks spent watching _Critical Role_ —and I suddenly remembered that Matthew Mercer voiced Cor. I’d been so invested in the story so far that I hadn’t even been paying attention to how familiar his voice was. It flooded back to me quickly and I watched him more carefully.

         “I will. You take care,” Noctis said as Cor climbed out of the tunnels and disappeared into the blazing light beyond.

         “Showtime,” Gladio said with excitement and rapture.

         “Lights on,” Ignis said. The flashlights clipped to the boys’ shirts all blazed to life, nearly blinding me on Gladio’s part since his chest was just above my eye-level—because that happened when he was 6’6” and I was 5’3” with my boots on. I hadn’t even noticed them put the lights _on_ their shirts. Which was probably just a video game mechanic.

         I didn’t have a flashlight though.

         “Here,” Ignis said, pulling something from his pocket. “This one is a little battered, but it still shines.” He reached out and clipped it to the edge of my jacket—the way everyone else’s was. He gave me a smile as he showed me how to switch it on. “In the event of a battery failure, just stick close to me.”

         “Sure thing,” I said.

         “If you’re all done _gazing into each other’s eyes_ , we got work to do,” Gladio said, half amused and half sarcastic.

         “Right,” I said.

         Noctis headed for an archway leading deeper—a place that was raw cut stone in the mountain. No retaining walls. “Here we go,” he said. The rest of us filed after him, the sunlight quickly diminishing. My eyes fought to adjust to the darkness and I stole a glance at Ignis.

         Not too long from now, darkness even more absolute would be all he saw—or rather didn’t.

         My heart broke.

         “Keep it real, huh?” Gladio prompted.

         We went creeping through the tunnel until it widened into a cavern—that had a massive pile of sandbags off to the right.

         “Huh? Look!” Prompto exclaimed, echoing my feelings.

         “There’s a door,” Gladio said, pointing ahead. Indeed there was. Darker than the surrounding rock with metal grating on either side. I wouldn’t call it a “door” so much as an “opening.”

         Noctis went right for it.

         I wondered if he was leading so much just because he was the main playable character outside of combat. Like, Ignis and Gladio seemed more the types to forge ahead bravely. But Noctis was the one the player controlled, and players like to get around fast, so they run everywhere all the time. I was no exception to that.

         “What is this place?” Prompto wondered, sounding like he was both scared and in awe.

         “It appears to have been a shelter,” Ignis remarked as Noctis scooped something off the ground to peer at curiously.

         “People lived here?” Prompto asked.

         “Those seeking refuge from war, most like,” Ignis said.

         “That would suck,” I muttered, peering around at the stone walls of the tunnel as we descended stairs and the darkness surrounding us on all sides—oppressively pressing in on us and trying to make our flashlights as ineffective as possible.

         “Wars, what are they good for?” Prompto said sarcastically at the same time I spoke. “Wonder if anyone’s still living here.”

         “Hope not,” I said.

         There was a yelp as Prompto tripped. “Huh? What’s this? A cable?”

         A long dark rope of cable wove down the passageway, not bothering to stick close to a wall, leaving itself wide open for me or Prompto to trip on it. Or maybe Noctis.

         “Wonder where it leads,” Prompto continued.

         A chill breeze blew down the tunnel. I shuddered and pulled my gauntlets as high up as they’d go to keep my arms warmer. Usually I hadn’t noticed the temperature so much in the game unless I _really_ searched for it because, since it was a game, did it _really_ exist?

         “We can follow it and see,” Ignis said, forging forward past me and Noctis and Gladio and Prompto and following the cable around a corner.

         By the time I made it into the generator chamber—another roughly-hewn stone cavern—the boys were shining their lights on the large machine against the wall. “A generator?” Prompto asked.

         “So it would appear,” Ignis said, revealing he hadn’t heard me earlier.

         “Might still run,” Prompto said, somewhat excited.

         “It does,” I said.

         “Start her up?” Prompto suggested.

         Noctis revved the thing to life. Soft, amber-yellow incandescent light flickered into existence around the tunnels. I smiled. There wasn’t enough to turn off our flashlights, but it was enough to not feel so oppressed by the darkness.

         “Sweet it works!” Prompto squealed.

         “Huh,” Gladio grunted.

         “Then there was light,” Ignis said. I stared at him in alarm and confusion. I couldn’t tell if he was quoting the _Bible_ or just talking because… there shouldn’t have been a _Bible_ to quote from in this universe. They were polytheistic and their gods played a major physical role _in the game_.

         “Oh man, I do love me some light!” Prompto enthused.

         We went prowling through more tunnels, going ever-deeper into the mountain. I was getting a little anxious. Normally I wasn’t afraid of the dark or tight spaces but my heart was hammering against my sternum pretty hard the deeper we got. Like the weight of the mountain would finally give way and the tunnels would collapse. “I'm okay, I'm okay, I'm okay,” I whispered, nodding to myself near the middle of the pack to keep my confidence up. I fiddled anxiously with my necklace.

         “Iggy,” Gladio said from behind me. “C’mere.”

         Ignis fell behind from where he’d been up next to Noctis. I couldn’t hear what Gladio said to him, but after a moment, he fell into step beside me. “Are you alright? Gladio says you seem nervous.”

         “I don’t like deep mountain tunnels. I feel like it’s going to collapse.”

         “Here,” Ignis said, offering me his hand. “Squeeze as hard as you like.”

         I smiled at him weakly. “Thanks, Ignis.”

         “You are welcome, Nova.”

         I let go of my necklace and took his hand and squeezed it to ease my tension as we descended farther.

         _Clang! Clatter!_

         “Wha!” Prompto exclaimed as Ignis dropped into a defensive stance. “What was that?!”

         “My bad. Kicked a can,” Gladio said.

         “You are _killing_ me here, big guy!” Prompto said. “Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack or somethin’!?” His voice raised to a near-shout as he spoke.

         Up ahead, the rough stone gave way to bricks again. Around the corner of the bricks, a rusted metal grate door creaked open as Noctis pushed it. I squeezed Ignis’ hand tighter at the creaking and Prompto’s shouting. I couldn’t remember if there were any Big Nasties down here—but if there were, all this noise was going to draw them right to us.

         The corridor ahead was mostly brick. Prompto was saying something about eyes on us but I tuned him out because he was making me even more nervous and if I listened to him I was going to explode at him to shut his face.

         “—the second we turn our backs, BAM!” Prompto screamed.

         “Quit bein’ a wuss,” Gladio chastised.

         “ _Thank you_ , Gladio!” I said. “Prompto you’re not helping me here!”

         Noctis pushed on a door on the side of the corridor. Prompto gasped. “No good. It’s locked,” Prompto said when it didn’t give way. “Don’t bother, Noct. It won’t open.” He seemed relieved that it wasn’t going to open. I sure was. We ducked through another grate opening, this one without a gate door, to a tunnel that seemed half-finished. The bricks were in piles, only partially built against the wall. There was a side-passage that appeared to have collapsed. Or part of it anyway.

         I squeezed Ignis’ hand tighter. His fingers flexed around mine for reassurance.

         “Um, hello?!” Prompto called down the partially-collapsed passage. “Anybody home? I'm comin’ in!”

         I let Ignis lead me down the main passage, where it gave way to more completed brick walls, while Noctis and Prompto explored the entrance to the collapsed passage, but couldn’t go further. I ignored Prompto’s question about whether or not anyone wondered if people had ever died down here and ground my teeth.

         The main passage led into a large room full of junk—with a couple doors. Something clanged. I jumped and grabbed Ignis’ blazer jacket with my free hand. Prompto shrieked. “What was that?!”

         “Whatever it is, it’s playin’ with us,” Gladio said.

         Blushing, I let go of Ignis while Noctis picked up something else from the ground. “Sorry,” I muttered.

         “Quite alright. I understand your anxieties,” Ignis said, smoothing out the lapel of his jacket where I’d clutched it.

         Noctis approached one of the doors.

         “Hey wait!” Prompto protested.

         “What?” Noctis complained.

         “Need to brace for this,” Prompto said. “Okay. I'm gonna count to three. On three, you open the door. Got it?” Noctis grunted his assent. “Alright. Okay. Here I go. One, two, three!”

         The mark of a good friend: Noctis waited till Prompto reached three to shove on the door—which was locked—instead of just pushing it on “one” like Amy would have if I were the one counting down.

         When the door didn’t give, Prompto deflated. “Ugh. Locked. Total shocker,” he muttered sarcastically.

         “Hey, if something’s worth locking up…” Noctis began as something else creaked.

Prompto pointed to a corner. “It came from there.”

         It appeared to be a magic pool. Noctis held his hand out to absorb the magic for use later.

         We left the chamber and went exploring again. My blood was roaring in my ears and I was pretty sure my hand was sweating through my leather gauntlet as well as Ignis’ glove. If he noticed—if I actually was sweating that hard—he didn’t say anything.

         Back along the corridor, at another collapsed side-tunnel—or maybe it was the same one as before, I wasn’t sure—there was a green choker on the ground. “That… wasn’t there before,” Prompto remarked. Noctis scooped it up.

         A daemon—or something, it was dark and I wasn’t terribly familiar with the monster names of this game—appeared from where Noctis had picked up the choker.

         I yelped as Ignis shoved me behind him.

         In the darkness and confusion of the fight, I couldn’t tell if there was just one or more. I heard Ignis tell Noctis something about, “Outstanding,” but wasn’t really sure why.

         “Yup,” Noctis agreed as everything calmed down. It wasn’t a long fight and I hadn’t even gotten to do anything so I assumed there was just one creature. Assessing that no one was injured, Noctis took off down the passage again. “Let’s go!”

         “Indeed,” Ignis agreed. He came back over to me and offered me his hand. “Are you alright?”

         I took his hand. “For now,” I said.

         “Come along. Best not to fall behind.”

         “Right.”

         We jogged after Noctis, Gladio, and Prompto, Ignis still holding my hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *emerges from the void to post a chapter and probably immediately disappears again* Hey y'all! Thanks to everyone who's been enjoying this story of mine and leaving kudos and comments and stuff! I really appreciate you all and taking the time out of your days to read this silly idea I had!
> 
> Let me know if I misspelled something or left out a word so I can fix it! Thank you!


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